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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27257560">Wanted: A Butterfly and a Cat</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/HappyCamper41'>HappyCamper41 (orphan_account)</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Miraculous Ladybug</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir Needs a Hug, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Bad Parent Gabriel Agreste, But Now It's Serious, Crack and Angst, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Episode: s01 Climatika | Stormy Weather, Episode: s01 Le Dessinateur | The Evillustrator, F/M, Gen, I Can't Believe I Wrote This, I Definitely Don't Have Time to Write This but Whatever, Marichat, Not Beta Read, Oblivious Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir and Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, This was supposed to be crack, enemies au, too much angst</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-10-29</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-12-20</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-07 01:08:23</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>7</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>27,669</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27257560</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/HappyCamper41</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Stormy Weather whirled around to face him, scowling immediately, “That’s Stormy Weather to you, cat!” She pointed the parasol at his face threateningly, but Chat Noir simply yawned in response.</p><p>“Really? Stormy Weather? That’s what he called you?” Chat asked incredulously, feigning surprise before smirking again, “I’m just glad that Hawkmoth didn’t name me… oh wait.”</p><p>An enemies AU where Ladybug, Rena Rouge, and Carapace are responsible for protecting Paris from the clutches of the evil Hawkmoth and his significantly less evil sidekick: Chat Noir.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir &amp; Gabriel Agreste | Papillon | Hawk Moth, Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir &amp; Plagg, Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Alya Césaire &amp; Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Alya Césaire/Nino Lahiffe, Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug &amp; Tikki</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>69</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>296</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Stormy Weather</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>This was supposed to be crack, but then it got serious/angsty, and now I have no idea.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Summer vacation is <em> cancelled!” </em></p><p> </p><p>It hadn’t even been five minutes, and Stormy Weather was already <em> way </em> out of control.</p><p> </p><p>She had encased the park’s merry-go-round in a gigantic sheet of ice, imprisoning <em> all </em> of the ride’s occupants. Dozens of cars had already been overturned by waves of wind that she fired out of her parasol, causing thousands of euros worth of property damage on top of the possible injuries and death she was inflicting. Perhaps even more concerning- Stormy Weather didn’t even seem <em> slightly </em> concerned about her rampage.</p><p> </p><p>“Hey Ice Queen!” Chat Noir called out, casually gripping a light post as he twirled his own tail, capturing the villain’s attention, “What’s with all the terrorizing? Shouldn’t you be picking on somebody your own temperature?”</p><p> </p><p>Stormy Weather whirled around to face him, scowling immediately, “That’s <em> Stormy Weather </em> to you, cat!” She pointed the parasol at his face threateningly, but Chat Noir simply <em> yawned </em>in response.</p><p> </p><p>“Really? <em>Stormy Weather? </em>That’s what he called you?” Chat asked incredulously, feigning surprise before smirking again, “I’m just glad that Hawkmoth didn’t name me… <em>oh wait.”</em></p><p> </p><p>Immediately, a purple outline appeared on Stormy Weather’s face. The girl’s eyebrows scrunched up in confusion, as Hawkmoth’s voice exited her mouth, <em> “What have I told you about protecting our identities, Chat Noir?” </em> He sounded <em> pissed, </em> but Chat Noir just shrugged.</p><p> </p><p>“Oh, <em> relax.” </em> Chat Noir dismissed Hawkmoth’s concerns, and gestured at the empty street around them, “There’s nobody around. And it’s not like I used anybody’s real name, anyway.” Before Hawkmoth could respond, Chat added, “And while you’re here: what the heck is this!?” He pointed at the park behind them, “She just attacked a random merry-go-round with <em> kids </em> on it for no reason!”</p><p> </p><p>The purple outline on Stormy Weather’s face vanished- apparently Hawkmoth wasn’t in the mood to explain himself. Not that it was any surprise to Chat Noir. He and Hawkmoth had argued about the damage his villain’s caused <em> many </em> times, and it looked like they would be arguing about it yet again once this battle was over.</p><p> </p><p><em>“Excuse </em>you!” Stormy Weather was back to her usual voice, “I am not doing this for <em>‘no reason!’</em> I was <em>robbed</em> of my rightful role! I was going to be Paris’s number one weather girl, until it was <em>stolen </em>from me by-” She blinked in surprise, interrupted mid-rant when Chat Noir burst out laughing.</p><p> </p><p>“Oh my god.” Chat Noir guffawed, “I’d say that there’s no way you just said what I think you just said- but I have four ears to prove it.” He shook his head, still laughing, “You were gonna- <em> no- </em> I <em> can’t… </em> you’re mad that you don’t get to be a <em> weather girl!?” </em> Chat Noir waved his arms like a madman at the destruction surrounding them, “And because you’re not a weather girl… <em> this!?” </em></p><p> </p><p>Stormy Weather growled, raising her parasol threateningly, but Hawkmoth’s emblem appeared on her face yet again- almost certainly commanding her not to harm Chat Noir.</p><p> </p><p>But Chat Noir was already not paying attention to her. Stormy Weather was boring- only barely more ridiculous than the usual riff-raff his father cooked up. Her costume was cool, he had to admit, but that was about all he could say. No… Chat Noir’s gaze was reserved for another girl that had entered his line of sight. A girl that he sincerely believed to be the most beautiful in all of Paris- even if she hated his guts.</p><p> </p><p>That didn’t stop him from smiling- <em> grinning, </em> actually- as the girl in the spotted costume finally entered the scene- swinging in on her magical yoyo to save the day. She landed several feet away, a safe distance from himself and Stormy Weather as she regarded both of them warily.</p><p> </p><p>“My Lady…” Chat Noir bowed dramatically, “Just as I was afraid that my life would be forever frozen over by this horrific Ice Queen-”</p><p> </p><p>“That’s <em> Stormy Weather!” </em></p><p> </p><p>“-your warmth comes to brighten my day and warm my heart.” Chat finished, and took out a rose he’d just barely managed to save from the layer of frost that had taken over the park. Chat Noir took a knee, extending the flower towards the spotted heroine as he placed his other hand on his chest, “For you, Mademoiselle Ladybug.”</p><p> </p><p>Chat Noir could practically hear Hawkmoth fuming from inside his lair, and knew that he was in for one hell of a lecture when he got home tonight.</p><p> </p><p>Ladybug regarded him cooly, crossing her arms rather than accepting the flower, “Not a chance, Alley Cat.”</p><p> </p><p>“Then perhaps that <em> foxy </em> Rena Rouge is around…” Chat Noir held his hand flat over his eyes, making a show of looking around, “Although I would hate to get in the way of Carapace… that turtle has shells in his eyes everytime he looks her way.” He smiled at his own joke, but Ladybug simply rolled her eyes.</p><p> </p><p>Ladybug had been alone for her first few battles, but that quickly changed after the combined powers of Chat Noir and the akuma nearly overwhelmed her. Rena Rouge and Carapace, the wielders of the Fox and Turtle Miraculous respectively, had been recruited to fight alongside her- even if they were nowhere to be seen right now.</p><p> </p><p><em> “Enough messing around, Chat Noir!” </em>Stormy Weather spoke with Hawkmoth’s voice for a second time. The arch supervillain’s voice was now a low growl, clearly impatient with Chat Noir’s bantering.</p><p> </p><p>What could he say? These things took time.</p><p> </p><p>But before Chat Noir could respond, and explain that this was all part of a grand ploy to seduce the city’s chief defender with his feline charm, Ladybug rushed him. </p><p> </p><p>She grabbed his extended wrist, twisting it behind his back and slamming his face against the same street lamp he’d been hanging from when he first approached Stormy Weather. Ladybug grabbed at his wrist, clearly trying to slip the ring off of his fingers, but Chat was able to close his hand into a fist- easily preventing it, but he was unable to shake her grip.</p><p> </p><p><em> Damn she’s strong. </em> Chat Noir did his very best not to think about how much he enjoyed the city’s <em> gorgeous </em> heroine holding him in place.</p><p> </p><p>“A little help?” Chat Noir called back to Stormy Weather, who had been simply watching with an amused smile until this point. Hawkmoth’s emblem appeared on her face again,  demanding that she intervene.</p><p> </p><p><em> “Fiiiiiine.” </em> Storm Weather rolled her eyes as she raised her parasol, almost lazily, and unleashed a torrent of wind straight at the both of them. The magical blast was powerful enough to send <em> both </em>of the teenagers flying- several hundred feet into the air, and at least a few blocks away from where they were standing a moment ago.</p><p> </p><p>As they tumbled through the air, Chat Noir managed to wrestle free of Ladybug’s grip with minimal effort. She swung her yoyo, probably intending to rappel away, but Chat managed to swat the string aside, ruining any potential escape. Ladybug’s eyes darted to the side, widening again as she realized that they were about to crash into one of the buildings.</p><p> </p><p>Chat Noir saw it too, and realized that the crash was going to hurt- <em> badly. </em> </p><p> </p><p>He didn’t think about his next move very clearly, and almost certainly wouldn’t have done it if he had: he reached out, wrapping Ladybug in a bear hug as he positioned himself to take the brunt of the impact. Her bright blue eyes stared at him in a mixture of shock and suspicion as they <em> crashed, </em> shattering the outside of the warehouse and tumbling inside. Chat Noir could’ve sworn that he felt something break inside of his chest.</p><p> </p><p>Rubble exploded all around them as they tore through the wall, causing Chat’s grip to almost falter as they rolled to a stop on the concrete floor. His back hit something metal- a machine of some sort? All he knew was that it wasn’t pleasant.</p><p> </p><p><em> “Ugh…” </em> Chat Noir murmured, not sure if he could get up. <em> Everything </em> hurt.</p><p> </p><p>Ladybug kicked off of him the moment they stopped rolling, sliding back to her feet and assuming a combative stance. She had dropped her yoyo in the impact, but apparently had no problem resorting to hand-to-hand combat in lieu of her traditional methods.</p><p> </p><p>“Give me just a sec...” Chat Noir held up a clawed finger, imploring that she wait before finishing him off, “I’m fine… thanks for asking.”</p><p> </p><p>“Did you take that hit on purpose?” Ladybug demanded, scowling indignantly as he forced himself back to his feet.</p><p> </p><p>Chat Noir winced, both from the pain of the impact and the realization that <em> yes, </em> he had intentionally shielded her from the impact. <em> What the hell was he thinking? </em> He liked to joke around, but at the end of the day Ladybug was still his <em> enemy! </em>The whole point of his mission- the whole point of destroying the city every week- was to get her Miraculous. He couldn’t afford to waste opportunities.</p><p> </p><p>Not while his father grew more and more impatient… </p><p> </p><p>“Hm.” Chat Noir shrugged in response to her question, feigning disinterest, “Maybe.”</p><p> </p><p>“I don’t need any help from <em> you.” </em> Ladybug snapped indignantly, <em> “Why?” </em></p><p> </p><p>In truth, Chat had no idea why he’d done it. In some ways, he was just as confused as she was about this whole situation. Taking a hit on her behalf didn’t accomplish anything, even though if it felt like the right thing to do at the time and he would totally do it again-</p><p> </p><p><em> Stop it! </em>Chat Noir shook his head, dismissing those thoughts.</p><p> </p><p>“Perhaps I’m just a gentleman.” Chat Noir suggested, and he was unable to stop his characteristic smirk from returning, “After all: what would my mother think if she saw me let a lady like yourself take the fall?”</p><p> </p><p>“Better question: what would your mother think if she saw you helping Hawkmoth destroy the city on a biweekly basis?” Ladybug growled, unamused by his antics.</p><p> </p><p>A dark look crossed Chat Noir’s face. How <em> dare </em> she? His mother was the entire reason for <em> all </em> of this! When he and Hawkmoth managed to get their hands on Ladybug’s Miraculous, they were going to bring her <em> back! </em> The reason his father had become a supervillain was because he <em> loved </em> her- and Adrien, too. Her absence was the reason things hadn’t been okay at the Agreste house for <em> months, </em>and the reason Adrien could only speak to his father when they were wearing dark masks and magical jewelry.</p><p> </p><p>And once they succeeded, and brought his mother back… Adrien would be getting both of his parents returned to him.</p><p> </p><p>“For your information,” Chat Noir said coldly, “I don’t exactly <em> enjoy </em> being Paris’s most wanted, you know?”</p><p> </p><p>Ladybug had the gall to laugh, “Oh really? Then <em>stop.”</em> Chat Noir scowled, but the superheroine wasn’t finished, “You’re the only one responsible for your actions, Chat Noir. You <em>chose</em> this path- you and Hawkmoth both did. You <em>choose</em> to terrorize innocent people. You <em>choose </em>to destroy so much of this city and enslave your kwamis-”</p><p> </p><p>“Shut up!” Chat Noir growled, clenching his fists- it hurt, because of his injuries, but he only barely noticed, “You have no idea what you’re talking about!”</p><p> </p><p>“Don’t I?” Ladybug arched an eyebrow, her expression finally softening a bit, “Look… Chat Noir. I know you’re not as bad as Hawkmoth- I’ve <em> seen </em>you!” Ladybug paused, clearly waiting for a response, but Chat Noir put on a poker face. She sighed, continuing, “Don’t think we haven’t noticed- just last month, you stopped attacking Carapace so you could save that guy the Mime was after.”</p><p> </p><p>Chat Noir winced at the memory- his father had given him more of an earful for his actions that day.</p><p> </p><p>The Mime had been cheated out of his part for a play by one of his fellow cast members, and was out for blood. The battle had been grueling for a number of reasons (partly because the Mime was silent and didn’t care for Chat’s jokes, but alas), but Ladybug was referring to the end of the battle, when Chat Noir ruined things.</p><p> </p><p>He’d had Carapace on the ropes- the turtle hero was less than a minute from transforming back, and struggling to stop Chat from taking his Miraculous, while Ladybug and Rena Rouge were both moving to stop a runaway bus. This of course left the Mime free to do as he pleased, to the misfortune of his former castmate. </p><p> </p><p>The villain was miming a bow and arrow when Chat Noir realized what he was planning to do.</p><p> </p><p>Rather than simply claiming the Turtle Miraculous and being done with it, Chat Noir had abandoned his prey to rescue the imperiled actor- even going so far as to attack the Mime directly, much to Hawkmoth’s chagrin. Adrien hadn’t been allowed out of his room for an entire <em> month </em>after that, save for school-related activities and meals- a penalty that had only recently ended.</p><p> </p><p>“Maybe I just wanted to see that pretty smile of yours once you won.” Chat Noir tried to deflect, but Ladybug just sighed.</p><p> </p><p>“I just don’t understand.” Ladybug said tiredly, eyeing him with exasperation, “You keep helping Hawkmoth for some reason… even after everything he’s done- even though <em> you </em> clearly have a problem with the things he does.” She paused, “Listen… I’ve told you before: we were supposed to be partners- a <em> team! </em> You’ve made some mistakes, but it’s not too late to do the right thing! It’s <em> never </em> too late…”</p><p> </p><p>Ladybug seemed to take his silence as a sign of encouragement- her blue eyes lit up with hope when Chat Noir didn’t immediately reject the suggestion.</p><p> </p><p>Chat Noir would be lying if he said that the idea wasn’t tempting on some level. Ladybug had indeed mentioned before that the two of them were supposed to be on the same side… he didn’t necessarily believe her, not after his father denied the accusation, but it was clear that <em> she </em> believed it.  And regardless of the circumstances, Chat couldn’t deny that the idea of being around Ladybug was something he found… <em> appealing. </em> He was always drawn to her- a reality that he tried to mask with silly jokes and playful flirts while they fought, but never something he could fully deny. </p><p> </p><p>He just hoped that it wasn’t his hormones talking.</p><p> </p><p>Deep down, he knew that she was right… what his father was doing- no, what <em> both </em> of them were doing- was wrong. Taking advantage of emotionally vulnerable people, and then using them to attack teenagers that couldn’t be much older than Chat Noir himself. Sure, he could sleep at night because he tried to keep the mayhem to a minimum, and he convinced himself that it was all for a good reason… </p><p> </p><p><em> Of course it’s for a good reason! </em> A voice in his head- one that sounded suspiciously like his father’s- was quick to scold him. Ladybug had no idea what she was talking about; she almost certainly came from a warm and loving family. She would never understand his pain.</p><p> </p><p>“What I think doesn’t matter.” Chat Noir countered, keeping his voice even somehow, “I can’t tell you what Hawkmoth and I are after- only that I <em> can’t </em> give up on it.”</p><p> </p><p>In a matter of seconds, Ladybug’s face went from hopeful to harsh. She didn’t frown, but the slight twinkle in her eyes was completely extinguished as soon as the words exited his lips. Chat Noir shifted uncomfortably, already wishing that he could take his words back, but it was too late: Ladybug was moving towards the hole in the wall they’d made.</p><p> </p><p>“Then I’ve wasted too much time here.” Ladybug said coldly, “Rena and Carapace are waiting for me- and I’m sure your <em> pals </em>Hawkmoth and Stormy Weather could use you as well.”</p><p> </p><p>“Ladybug…” Chat started, but the words died in his throat as Ladybug slung her yoyo outside, moving to engage Hawmkoth’s creation.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Plagg</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Gabriel is literally the worst.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Chat Noir was only barely able to slip into his bedroom before his transformation wore off, depositing one Adrien Agreste onto the floor of the gargantuan space. He took a deep breath, calming himself, trying to steady his racing heart as he took a shaky couple of steps towards his couch, flopping down when he was close enough.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The rest of the battle had been uneventful- Chat Noir had only arrived in time to see Ladybug and Carapace cornering Stormy Weather on top of the TV studio. He had tried to intervene, and stop the akuma from getting defeated, but his heart really wasn’t into it this time. He’d cataclysmed Carapace’s force field- intentionally wasting it, so he had an excuse to rush back to his room and transform back.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You, Adrien, are going to end up getting killed or caught out there.” His kwami, Plagg, emerged from his ring and </span>
  <em>
    <span>immediately</span>
  </em>
  <span> began to poke at him, “I mean, taking a hit for Ladybug? </span>
  <em>
    <span>On purpose? </span>
  </em>
  <span>If I didn’t know better, I’d say-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Just grab your cheese, Plagg.” Adrien cut him off with a sigh as he flipped his TV on, “I know you’re hungry.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“And they say humans can’t be trained.” Plagg cackled, immediately rushing for the cheese supply stored within a mini-fridge Adrien had bought with his modelling money.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Adrien spared the kwami a tired look as he began to tear into a brick of camembert cheese that far exceeded his body mass.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Plagg was something of a riddle- the kind of creature that would feign disinterest ninety percent of the time, but Adrien </span>
  <em>
    <span>always</span>
  </em>
  <span> got the sense that he was paying at least some attention. But to the kwami’s credit, it was a different sort of feeling than when his father installed cameras outside his room, or grounded him for a week; Plagg’s gaze felt almost </span>
  <em>
    <span>protective,</span>
  </em>
  <span> as if the kwami was looking out for him.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It was a nice feeling.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>But Adrien’s father had been clear from the beginning: Adrien wasn’t to trust a </span>
  <em>
    <span>word</span>
  </em>
  <span> that came out of the small cat’s mouth. Plagg was </span>
  <em>
    <span>forced</span>
  </em>
  <span> to obey him because of the ring, and his father assured him that Plagg would betray them in an </span>
  <em>
    <span>instant,</span>
  </em>
  <span> if given the chance- just like his own kwami. Still, Adrien found himself growing more and more attached to the cheese monster on some level. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>After all, Plagg was pretty much the only company that Adrien had in the lonely expanse of his bedroom. He was somewhere between a pet and a sibling, both of which Gabriel Agreste </span>
  <em>
    <span>never</span>
  </em>
  <span> would’ve provided to Adrien otherwise. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He technically wasn’t sure about that, but Adrien would be willing to place some serious money down that his mother was the one to suggest creating him- she might’ve even made it happen without telling Gabriel, an idea that definitely stung more than a bit.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“...today’s attack was arguably one of the worst yet.”</span>
  </em>
  <span> Nadja Chamack’s usually peppy voice was strained as footage of Stormy Weather’s rampage played in the background, </span>
  <em>
    <span>“While Ladybug was of course able to reverse the damage, the worst of the destruction will forever be remembered by those who saw and experienced it.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Adrien winced, as he saw Stormy Weather unleash a torrent of wind- cars went flying, including a school bus, and even some people were swept up in the miniature cyclone. The amatuer footage was definitely choppy in a few places, but the message was still clear: Hawkmoth’s latest creation had hurt a </span>
  <em>
    <span>lot</span>
  </em>
  <span> of people.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>It always does.</span>
  </em>
  <span> Adrien was unable to stop himself from realizing.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You know, your dad really is something.” Plagg remarked, shaking his head as the newsreel was forced to censor a car crashing down on an eldely woman.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“He’s just-” Adrien started, but flinched as he saw Carapace shield a civilian with his own body. The boy had superpowers, like Chat Noir, but there was a very </span>
  <em>
    <span>human</span>
  </em>
  <span> agony flashing across his features as the lightning from Stormy Weather’s parasol coursed through him.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Just what?” Plagg asked with a snort, “Uncaring? Reckless? </span>
  <em>
    <span>Psychotic?”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I was going to say that he’s grieving…” Adrien said weakly, “When Mom got sick- he took it pretty badly.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Gabriel Agreste had locked himself in his office for forty eight hours the day after his wife “vanished.” Adrien had reached a point of total </span>
  <em>
    <span>panic- </span>
  </em>
  <span>demanding that Nathalie let him check to see that the man was </span>
  <em>
    <span>alive </span>
  </em>
  <span>in there, but the assistant had refused. When his father finally left, Adrien had nearly collapsed from the smell of alcohol that was practically dripping off of the aging designer.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Of course, Adrien knew now that his mother was still with them- at least physically. His father had initially insisted that his mother was “missing,” but had eventually admitted that this was nothing more than a complete lie. The day that Adrien’s father had offered him Plagg and this ring- the same day Adrien had gone to school for the first time- he had explained that Emilie Agreste was being preserved beneath the mansion.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The man had always been distant. But now? Adrien wasn’t sure if he knew his father anymore… </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, well most guys don’t take out their pain on millions of innocent people.” Plagg said, and gave Adrien a somewhat sympathetic look, “Even fewer would drag their son into it.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“He’s not dragging me-” Adrien tried to argue, but was cut off when Plagg started </span>
  <em>
    <span>laughing.</span>
  </em>
  <span> It was a dry, humorless sound, one that Adrien had never heard from the kwami before.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Kid, just look at yourself!” Plagg exclaimed, floating in front of Adrien’s face, “You’re watching a televised recap of </span>
  <em>
    <span>hundreds</span>
  </em>
  <span> of people getting killed or seriously injured- mayhem that you wouldn’t have </span>
  <em>
    <span>ever</span>
  </em>
  <span> accepted if it wasn’t for that </span>
  <em>
    <span>bastard</span>
  </em>
  <span> sucking you into it!” Plagg growled, a low rumble that caused the hair on Adrien’s neck to stand up, “You’re better than </span>
  <em>
    <span>this,</span>
  </em>
  <span> Adrien, and you deserve so much more than that candy cane looking thumbtack could ever give you!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Adrien winced at the kwami’s words.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You sound like Ladybug.” Adrien said quietly, recalling their conversation in the warehouse less than half an hour ago.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Is that a bad thing?” Plagg asked, arching a curious eyebrow, and Adrien went silent.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Adrien </span>
  <em>
    <span>desperately</span>
  </em>
  <span> wanted to tune them both out, but how could he? Adrien’s mother didn’t deserve what had happened to her- his father was just trying to fix things! The Agreste family had been in shambles since the day she left them, and this was the only way for Adrien to bring things back to the way they were. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>If Adrien was to abandon his father now… their relationship would surely get even </span>
  <em>
    <span>worse.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p><em><span>“This is all a stark reminder of what our city is up against.”</span></em><span> Mayor Bourgeois was now on screen, addressing the cameras from in front of Le Grand Paris hotel, </span><em><span>“We cannot- or rather, we will not</span></em> <em><span>rest until the violent charlatans perpetrating this naked aggression are prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law! My people will continue to assist Ladybug and her allies to the best-”</span></em></p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Adrien flipped the TV off.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A knock at the door caught his attention, “Adrien?” Nathalie’s voice called into the room, “Your father wants to see you.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I figured.” He sighed as he got to his feet, “In his office?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“That’s right.” Nathalie’s voice was dispassionate, but Adrien was surprised to see a look of vague </span>
  <em>
    <span>concern</span>
  </em>
  <span> on her face when he opened the door. It seemed as though Adrien wasn’t the only one dreading this conversation.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’ll be fine, Nathalie.” Adrien assured her, but the assistant bit her lip nervously.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I-” She started, but quickly stiffened her posture, “Of course, Adrien. Just… be careful. Your father is not in a good mood right now.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Is he </span>
  <em>
    <span>ever?”</span>
  </em>
  <span> Plagg snickered, and they both ignored him.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Gabriel Agreste’s atelier perfectly matched the style of the rest of his home- particularly in the way that it didn’t feel like a home </span>
  <em>
    <span>at all.</span>
  </em>
  <span> It was cold, built almost exclusively out of black and white marble, with only a few portraits of Adrien lining the walls to add the faintest sense of authenticity in an otherwise inauthentic environment. Adrien entered hesitantly, wincing as he saw the harsh expression on his father’s face.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Adrien.” He said coldly, and gestured to the chair in front of his desk, “Take a seat.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Unlike Chat Noir, Adrien Agreste was powerless to disobey his father. Where Chat Noir would’ve made a snide comment, or joked about the peppermint tie that Gabriel had donned, Adrien simply took a seat as commanded. Gabriel waited a long moment, simplifying staring at his son with something near </span>
  <em>
    <span>contempt</span>
  </em>
  <span> as Adrien did his best not to tremble.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Why do you think you’re here right now, Adrien?” Gabriel asked, and Adrien bit his tongue to stop himself from saying something regrettable.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I wasted time during the fight.” Adrien said cautiously, “You’re probably mad that I was bantering with Ladybug when I was supposed to be-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“-taking her Miraculous.” Gabriel finished, and scowled, “So you understood that your actions were to our detriment, yet you did them anyways?” Adrien was silent, and the tall man growled, “I haven’t even </span>
  <em>
    <span>started</span>
  </em>
  <span> on the way you distracted Stormy Weather. Her power was </span>
  <em>
    <span>colossal,</span>
  </em>
  <span> and if you had just worked with her for </span>
  <em>
    <span>five minutes,</span>
  </em>
  <span> I’m certain that we could’ve-”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hold on a second!” Adrien interrupted indignantly, “Father, have you </span>
  <em>
    <span>seen</span>
  </em>
  <span> the news footage!? When I turned up on the scene, Stormy Weather was in the middle of attacking a carousel- with </span>
  <em>
    <span>kids</span>
  </em>
  <span> on it! And apparently she did a </span>
  <em>
    <span>whole</span>
  </em>
  <span> lot worse when I wasn’t there to-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Mind your tongue.” Gabriel didn’t appreciate the interruption, “Your commitment to minimizing collateral damage is certainly admirable, but it’s </span>
  <em>
    <span>misguided.”</span>
  </em>
  <span> Gabriel said flatly, “Our mission is not to protect the people of Paris, Adrien. I am trying to bring your mother back to us. And when you waste time </span>
  <em>
    <span>flirting</span>
  </em>
  <span> with my enemies, when you try and stop my creations from doing what they must- you become an obstacle to my goal.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Gabriel’s use of “my” when describing the plan to bring back Adrien’s mother wasn’t lost on the blond boy.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I don’t think Mom would’ve wanted-” Adrien started, but his voice wavered when a fire lit in his father’s eyes.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Don’t you </span>
  <em>
    <span>dare</span>
  </em>
  <span> finish that sentence.” Gabriel commanded, and the boy was startled to see that his father’s fist was now clenched, “You have no </span>
  <em>
    <span>idea</span>
  </em>
  <span> what happened- no idea what she would’ve ‘wanted.” Gabriel shook his head, “So I repeat: Mind. Your. Tongue.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Maybe you should watch </span>
  <em>
    <span>your</span>
  </em>
  <span> tongue.” Both Agreste men were surprised when Plagg spoke up, glaring daggers at Gabriel Agreste, “Your son just told you that </span>
  <em>
    <span>children</span>
  </em>
  <span> were harmed in the attack today- you’re really just going to brush him off?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Adrien was momentarily stunned- Plagg had </span>
  <em>
    <span>never</span>
  </em>
  <span> spoken up during a conversation with his father before, and for good reason. Gabriel wasn’t one to tolerate dissent from his own family, much more from a magical cheese monster with a bad attitude. And considering the way that Gabriel had entrusted </span>
  <em>
    <span>Adrien</span>
  </em>
  <span> with caring for Plagg… the odds were strong that Adrien would be the one taking the heat for this outburst.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Plagg-” Adrien hushed, reaching towards the kwami in hopes of stuffing him inside a pocket, but the damage was already done.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Gabriel’s eyes narrowed, “I see you’re allowing this… </span>
  <em>
    <span>creature</span>
  </em>
  <span> to become something of a bad influence, is that it?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“If by bad influence you mean agreeing that </span>
  <em>
    <span>murder</span>
  </em>
  <span> is a bad thing, then you better believe I’m a bad influe-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Stop it!” Adrien exclaimed fearfully, and Plagg’s mouth was magically sealed. Adrien’s eyes widened in confusion, but Gabriel actually </span>
  <em>
    <span>chuckled.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well… that’s more like it.” Gabriel said with a derisive smirk towards the silenced kwami before he directed his attention back to Adrien, “I would suggest you keep him in this state for the duration of any future audiences we have. It would… </span>
  <em>
    <span>reduce </span>
  </em>
  <span>the chances of me losing my temper with you.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Adrien stared dumbly between his father and Plagg, utterly confused. Plagg’s mouth had literally vanished… did </span>
  <em>
    <span>Adrien</span>
  </em>
  <span> do that to him!? Gabriel had explained before that Plagg was obligated to obey his orders (as long as Adrien held the ring), but Adrien didn’t realize that he had this much power over the small creature.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It was… </span>
  <em>
    <span>frightening,</span>
  </em>
  <span> and Adrien absently wondered if this is why he never heard from his father’s kwami.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“My patience is running thin, Adrien.” Gabriel said, as he redirected his attention to a sketchpad on his desk, “The risks you take during these battles, as well as the restraint you show, is </span>
  <em>
    <span>unacceptable. </span>
  </em>
  <span>If you will not do what is necessary to bring her back…” He paused, studying Adrien’s expression closely, “Then I’ll find somebody who will.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hold on a second!” Adrien’s jaw dropped, “You- you can’t seriously mean-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You’ve known me to jest?” Gabriel arched an eyebrow, not even sparing the boy another look, “Leave me now. I have work to do, and I believe that your Chinese lesson begins in another twenty minutes.” He paused, “I am likely to send out another akuma by the end of the week- Nathalie will inform you as usual if Chat Noir’s presence is required.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>__________</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“There’s my favorite fox!” Carapace grinned, as Rena Rouge landed atop the cathedral with a graceful somersault.</span>
</p><p> </p><p><span>“Good to see you too…”</span> <span>Rena Rouge glanced around to make sure that they were really alone, </span><em><span>“Nino.”</span></em></p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Technically, Alya and Nino weren’t supposed to know each other’s identities. Ladybug had chosen them to fight alongside her independently of one another, and had made it crystal clear that nobody else was allowed to know their secret identities. What Ladybug hadn’t counted on, however, was that Nino and Alya would end up using the same janitor’s closet to transform after a mere </span>
  <em>
    <span>three</span>
  </em>
  <span> missions together.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Nino had come close to asking her out a couple of times since then- he’d had a crush on Rena Rouge since the day they met- but the right moment never seemed to present itself. Still, they’d developed a close friendship since they revealed identities, and both of them were content to enjoy that for the time being.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Ladybug still didn’t know about their situation, and both teens had to uncomfortably admit that they were afraid to tell her. She hadn’t threatened any specific consequences for finding out identities, but the spotted heroine had made it clear that she was serious about her rules.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Sorry I wasn’t there today.” Rena apologized, her fox ears drooping slightly as she spoke, and Carapace snorted in response.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, I think we can let that slide.” He said darkly, “Considering the first thing Stormy Weather did was attack the carousel with you and Manon.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It had just been a lazy summer afternoon- fitting for the first day of break. Alya had gone over to visit Marinette while she babysitted Nadja Chamack’s daughter: Manon. Alya had twin younger sisters, and was consequently </span>
  <em>
    <span>much</span>
  </em>
  <span> better at handling the girl than Marinette was- much to Alya’s amusement.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The three of them had ended up going to the park together so Marinette could watch Adrien at his photoshoot, when Stormy Weather attacked.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Right?” Rena Rouge scoffed, twirling her flute between her fingers, “Who </span>
  <em>
    <span>does</span>
  </em>
  <span> something like that? I’d worry that she somehow knew my identity, but…”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“...but she quickly proved that you weren’t the only unarmed person she was out to get?” Carapace supplied, and Rena nodded.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The two were interrupted by the whir of Ladybug’s yoyo, signalling her arrival- the spotted heroine landed on the roof was a somersault just like Rena had.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Ladybug.” Carapace gave her a nod, but the girl just grimaced.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Carapace… Rena…” Ladybug’s voice was stiff as she looked between them, “It’s- it’s good to see you guys. Sorry I’m late, it was just-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“-a long day?” Rena Rouge supplied with a soft chuckle.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah…” Ladybug sighed, leaning against the railing tiredly, “I’ll just leave it at that.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Rena and Carapace shared a nervous look.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Ladybug usually wasn’t </span>
  <em>
    <span>this </span>
  </em>
  <span>upset, but she clearly had a lot on her shoulders. After all, Ladybug was the only one with the power to subdue an akuma, and the only one that could restore the damage caused by an attack. Moreover, Ladybug was the one to select Alya and Nino to fight alongside her, making the bug responsible for </span>
  <em>
    <span>all three</span>
  </em>
  <span> of their secret identities. It was a huge weight to carry, of that Alya had no doubt.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>But as much as Alya and Nino wanted to try and comfort her- or better yet, offer to help alleviate some of the pressure- what could they really do? There was a distance between the two of them and Ladybug that was hard to overcome. Ladybug had secrets- that much was obvious. And while Rena Rouge and Carapace respected that, it made things a lot more difficult sometimes.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“So…” Carapace said, “Summer vacation, huh? I don’t know about you girls, but this is my first day off.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Mine too.” Rena Rouge said, smiling at his efforts to lighten the mood, but Ladybug’s expression darkened slightly.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Details, guys.” She scolded, “I know it seems stupid, but we’ve gotta keep out real names a secret.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Rena Rouge resisted the urge to roll her eyes- fortunately Ladybug didn’t notice her tail twitching in agitation. Alya fully understood the need to keep identities safe, but this was just </span>
  <em>
    <span>ridiculous.</span>
  </em>
  <span> They were teeangers, and this was the first day of summer vacation- </span>
  <em>
    <span>of course</span>
  </em>
  <span> they were going to talk about it! Rena absently wondered exactly how much trouble they'd be in if Ladybug found out that she knew Carapace’s real name.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’m pretty sure all of the schools in Paris got off today, so that’s not really a risk.” Rena Rouge countered, and Ladybug’s eyes flickered with anger.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah? Well maybe some of us don’t go to school.” Ladybug lectured, “We could be homeschooled, attending university, or maybe we already work full-time. The details may seem small, Rena, but they add up over time-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Okay, well, I think It’s just kind of dumb when both-” Rena caught herself, “When </span>
  <em>
    <span>you</span>
  </em>
  <span> know my real name anyways.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’m just trying to keep all of us safe-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“From </span>
  <em>
    <span>what?” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Rena Rouge interrupted, vulpine eyes narrowing indignantly, “Last time I checked, the three of us are a </span>
  <em>
    <span>team.</span>
  </em>
  <span> Carapace knowing my identity wouldn’t be any more dangerous than you knowing it.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Ladybug sighed, rubbing her temple as she muttered something to herself. Rena Rouge couldn’t pick out what it was exactly, even with her enhanced hearing, but it didn’t take an expert to guess that it probably wasn’t nice. Carapace shifted uncomfortably, not sure if he should stay quiet or step in on his friend’s behalf.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Carapace isn’t the only reason we don’t broadcast our identities on a megaphone.” Ladybug snapped, her voice becoming more and more irritable as the argument continued, “We </span>
  <em>
    <span>never</span>
  </em>
  <span> know who might be listening in on our conversations- we’ve seen the kinds of crazy powers that Hawkmoth can give his akumas. We always need to operate under the assumption that somebody is listening to our every word.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Chat Noir does have enhanced hearing…” Carapace mused, and Rena Rouge shot him a nasty look.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Look, I understand that you want to keep us safe.” Rena said, taking a deep breath to control her own temper, “But what you just said </span>
  <em>
    <span>really</span>
  </em>
  <span> doesn’t hold up to any scrutiny. If they can listen in on our every conversation, they could be following us home. We can’t live our lives like this… we can’t place our lives in the hands of people that we don’t even know!” She paused, letting her words to sink in, “Besides, </span>
  <em>
    <span>you</span>
  </em>
  <span> know who both of us are-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah. I do.” Ladybug said dryly, “And </span>
  <em>
    <span>maybe</span>
  </em>
  <span> there’s a reason I haven’t trusted either of you to know who </span>
  <em>
    <span>I</span>
  </em>
  <span> am.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Ladybug and Rena Rouge’s eyes both widened in shock at the former’s words- until Rena Rouge’s narrowed with spite. Ladybug had always been a bit distant with her two allies, but she had </span>
  <em>
    <span>never</span>
  </em>
  <span> openly disparaged them like this before. Carapace was certainly a forgiving guy, but Rena Rouge wasn’t one to turn the other cheek in a situation like this.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Whoa, whoa, whoa.” Carapace stepped between the girls, “There’s no need to-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh, I think there is.” Rena Rouge growled, elbowing him aside, “You know? We didn’t </span>
  <em>
    <span>have</span>
  </em>
  <span> to help you, Ladybug! You </span>
  <em>
    <span>asked</span>
  </em>
  <span> us to fight besides you, because Chat Noir and Hawkmoth are too much for you to beat on your own. The hell do you mean ‘maybe there’s a reason’ you haven’t trusted us!?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Rena Rouge was ranting now, “We’ve </span>
  <em>
    <span>never</span>
  </em>
  <span> let you down, Ladybug. We’ve had your back- walking out on friends and family every time Hawkmoth and his pawns decide to attack innocent people! We’ve been through hell together, and you’ll have to </span>
  <em>
    <span>forgive</span>
  </em>
  <span> me for not wanting to spend every waking hour worrying about my </span>
  <em>
    <span>partners</span>
  </em>
  <span> learning that I go to a fucking high school!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Ladybug face quickly evolved- shifting from shock at the outburst, to anger at Rena Rouge’s words, and then to one of pure </span>
  <em>
    <span>exhaustion.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“...I’m sorry.” Ladybug said finally, “What I said was out of line-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You don’t say.” Rena snorted, and Carapace chuckled nervously.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“-and, for what it’s worth, I trust both of you more than </span>
  <em>
    <span>anybody.”</span>
  </em>
  <span> Ladybug’s voice was hollow now- and </span>
  <em>
    <span>fragile,</span>
  </em>
  <span> “It’s just- my kwami told me that these secrets are more important than anything else. I understand why it bothers you so much- really, I do. And there’s a lot more going on here than you might think.” She looked between them cautiously, hesitant to say more.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Rena Rouge and Carapace shared a surprised look. They had long suspected that Ladybug was keeping some secrets from them, but she had never actually mentioned it directly before. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Ladybug-” Carapace started to try and reassure, but she shook her head.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I wasn’t supposed to be the one in charge of all of this.” Ladybug blurted, and her friends’ eyes widened in shock, “There was somebody else- an old man. He’s the one that’s </span>
  <em>
    <span>supposed</span>
  </em>
  <span> to be handing out Miraculouses, protecting the rest of them, practicing magic, all of that…” She took a deep breath, “But I never met him. My kwami tells me that something must’ve happened to him.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Rena Rouge gaped at her. </span>
  <em>
    <span>An old man? More Miraculouses? </span>
  </em>
  <span>She shared another shocked look with Carapace.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“There’s- hold on, dudette.” Carapace tripped over his words a bit, “Let’s start from the beginning: you have </span>
  <em>
    <span>more</span>
  </em>
  <span> Miraculouses than just these three?’</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We’re supposed to have one more.” Ladybug nodded bitterly, “Chat Noir’s went missing the same day the old man did.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You don’t mean…” Rena Rouge blinked at the implication, “You’re saying that Chat Noir must have-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I don’t know!” Ladybug interrupted, shaking her head, “Tikki- my kwami- is almost </span>
  <em>
    <span>certain</span>
  </em>
  <span> that the Chat Noir we’re fighting is the same one that the old man meant to pick out as my partner… but we can’t know for sure.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Rena Rouge’s eyes widened at this new information. Ladybug had alluded to the idea before that Chat Noir was ‘supposed’ to be on their side, but never this explicitly. If he was really picked by the same ‘old man’ that had chosen Ladybug, and that old man was now missing… there was really only one possible conclusion to draw. Rena Rouge didn’t </span>
  <em>
    <span>think</span>
  </em>
  <span> that Chat Noir was a cold-blooded killer- especially after the fight with the Mime- but it wasn’t impossible.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Does this ‘old man’ have a name?” Carapace asked thoughtfully, changing the subject for the moment.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Tikki knows.” Ladybug shrugged helplessly, “But as a kwami, she’s forbidden to tell me anything about him. Just that he’s gone, and he entrusted the rest of the Miraculous to me.” Her voice caught a bit on the final words, and a slight narrowing of her bluebell eyes betrayed a certain </span>
  <em>
    <span>bitterness</span>
  </em>
  <span> at her situation, as if unfettered access to the power of the Miraculous was something that she never would’ve wanted.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“And as for what happened to him…” Ladybug shook her head, “I don’t know. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Maybe </span>
  </em>
  <span>Chat Noir did something to him, but he hasn’t even slightly suggested that he was responsible. All I know is that when he trusted me with the Miracle Box- the thing that holds the Miraculous- he lost any and all memory of the Miraculous.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh…” Rena Rouge shifted, “You mean- even if he’s still out there somewhere…”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“...he doesn’t have any idea what’s going on.” Ladybug finished, sighing quietly, “There’s nobody coming to help. This burden is mine alone to bear.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I mean…” Carapace began cautiously, “Maybe it doesn’t have to be? You still have us, Ladybug. And that has to count for something, doesn’t it?”</span>
  <span></span>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>
  <span>Rena Rouge immediately nodded in agreement, and Ladybug looked guilty as she glanced between them. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Sorry, guys.” Ladybug said sadly, “Tikki will already be on my case for telling you this much- I’m supposed to be the guardian of the Miraculous. And as much as it sucks, that’s not a role I’m supposed to be sharing with </span>
  <em>
    <span>anybody,</span>
  </em>
  <span> unless I was training them to replace me.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“That’s-” Rena Rouge’s eyes narrowed immediately, but Carapace put a hand on her shoulder.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well, thanks for telling us what you did.” Carapace said diplomatically, “You can rely on us, Ladybug. Your kwami might be upset, but you totally did the right thing, you know?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah…” Ladybug bit her lip, “I think so too.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Rena Rouge groaned internally. Nino was probably right- this was the first time that Ladybug had opened up to them even a </span>
  <em>
    <span>little </span>
  </em>
  <span>bit, so there was no need to press their luck. But Ladybug’s logic was just so </span>
  <em>
    <span>infuriating</span>
  </em>
  <span> that Alya could only barely keep her mouth shut. The three of them were a team, and teammates needed to </span>
  <em>
    <span>trust</span>
  </em>
  <span> each other! Ladybug wasn’t going to accomplish anything by taking the weight of the world on her shoulders when she didn’t have to…</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“That was a lot.” Ladybug said abruptly, but offered a somewhat forced smile, “It was still good seeing you guys, and-” She hesitated, and looked straight at Rena Rouge “I don’t want you to ever think that I don’t appreciate what you’re doing for me. You were right: you have had my back from the beginning. You’ve risked your lives for me and for this city countless times by now. Questioning you was… really messed up of me.” She swallowed, “I’m sorry, Rena.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Rena Rouge stayed silent for a moment, her emotions more than a bit confused.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I… I forgive you.” Rena Rouge said quietly, and Ladybug nodded.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Take care, you guys.” Ladybug said, looking between them one last time, “Make sure to leave in different directions like always, and hopefully we get a bit of break before Hawkmoth and Chat Noir try something else.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Sure thing.” Carapace nodded in return.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>And then, just as suddenly as she had arrived, Ladybug left. Rena Rouge and Carapace watched curiously as she vanished into the distance, using her yoyo to swing from building to building with practiced precision.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Carapace pointed a thumb in the direction that Ladybug had left in, “Sorry to get in your way there, but I’m sure she’ll come around soon enough.” His expression saddened a bit, “I didn’t think pushing her right now was a great idea… especially when we’ve got a secret of our own.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah…” Rena Rouge shrugged, finding no fault in his logic but still not thrilled about holding back, “I hope you’re right…”</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Tikki</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Both of our main characters angst at their kwamis. That's about it for this time, sadly.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>You'll have to forgive me. I'm blatantly disregarding the fact that I've said more than once that these kids are on summer break now. I might edit the chapters to remove those lines- I'll let you know in the next update.</p><p>I wanted to do scenes in school, and I'm also just winging it at this point (just like my other stories lmao).</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>“That was </span>
  <em>
    <span>really</span>
  </em>
  <span> dangerous.” Tikki’s voice was scolding as she exited Marinette’s earrings, and her eyebrows were scrunched up in a sign of disappointment.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Marinette sighed, ignoring her kwami momentarily as she changed into her pajamas. She was probably in for a long night anyways, so she might as well take a moment to herself before the lecture </span>
  <em>
    <span>really</span>
  </em>
  <span> got started.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Especially considering some of Marinette’s… </span>
  <em>
    <span>other</span>
  </em>
  <span> suspicions. While she still wasn’t sure, Marinette couldn’t help but notice that Alya and Nino were spending </span>
  <em>
    <span>a lot</span>
  </em>
  <span> more time together at school, while Rena Rouge and Carapace also seemed closer than ever. It was possible that it was a coincidence, but the chances were strong that the two had figured each other out.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>That was against the rules, but Marinette didn’t really care about that. More than anything, it just made her even </span>
  <em>
    <span>sad.</span>
  </em>
  <span> Sad that they didn’t trust Ladybug enough to admit the truth, and sad that the distance between them was now even farther.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“They aren’t supposed to know about the previous guardian.” Tikki continued, twitching her antennas in annoyance when Marinette didn’t respond, “And they </span>
  <em>
    <span>definitely</span>
  </em>
  <span> shouldn’t know about the other Miraculous. I get that you were trying to be a supportive teammate, but their safety, as well as yours, is more important than-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Not now, Tikki.” Marinette sighed, rubbing her eyes as she climbed up the ladder to her loft, “I know that you’re unhappy with me, and I shouldn’t let Rena and Carapace in on any of the ‘guardian’ stuff, so can we please just drop it for tonight?” Marinette spared the kwami a look, “I’m sorry I didn’t listen to you, okay?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Tikki studied her closely, searching for any sign of inauthenticity in the apology. The signs were absolutely there if she knew where to look, but Tikki didn’t know Marinette well enough to pass any real judgement. Their relationship wasn’t really one built on mutual trust or care- rather, circumstance had forced them together.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“...Okay.” Tikki said finally, and settled down on the pillow next to Marinette’s head, “Just… talk to me before you start handing out secrets, okay? This is an unusual situation, and I know that my rules can seem unreasonable at times, but I only act this way because I care about you.” Marinette closed her eyes, trying to tune out the kwami’s words, “Secrets are what keep us safe- if Hawkmoth and Chat Noir knew your identity, or they learned that somebody else knew-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“-they’d be in danger. I got it.” Marinette finished, rolling over so she wasn’t facing Tikki anymore.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>But weren’t Rena Rouge and Carapace superheroes anyway? Hawkmoth was </span>
  <em>
    <span>already</span>
  </em>
  <span> targeting them as it was, so learning Marinette’s identity wasn’t going to put them in any additional danger…</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Marinette sighed, suddenly understanding Tikki’s logic a bit better, even if it was a bit twisted. Keeping her name a secret from Nino and Alya wasn’t doing anything to keep them any safer; this was all to protect </span>
  <em>
    <span>Ladybug’s</span>
  </em>
  <span> identity. As it stood, either of them getting caught would only get them in trouble- not Marinette.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>If Hawkmoth captured any of his enemies, he would </span>
  <em>
    <span>definitely</span>
  </em>
  <span> pump them for information…</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She absently wondered what Chat Noir would do if he found out any of their identities, especially given their conversation earlier. He was certainly a villain, totally complicit in the regular destruction of Paris, but Ladybug meant what she said earlier; he was nowhere </span>
  <em>
    <span>near</span>
  </em>
  <span> as evil as Hawkmoth. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She had no idea how close of a relationship Chat Noir enjoyed with the evil overlord himself, but there must be </span>
  <em>
    <span>some</span>
  </em>
  <span> kind of a connection. Otherwise, there would be no reason for somebody like him to take Hawkmoth’s side…</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Tikki…” Marinette decided to ask her kwami, “Why do you think Chat Noir is on Hawkmoth’s side?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Tikki was taken aback by the sudden shift in topic, “I… have no idea. Why do you ask?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It’s nothing.” Marinette said hastily, “It’s just- he seems awful conflicted, doesn’t he? He didn’t have to take that hit for me earlier, so I mean- do you think Hawkmoth is blackmailing him, or…” She trailed off hesitantly, not sure what explanation could </span>
  <em>
    <span>possibly</span>
  </em>
  <span> justify the way he was acting. After all, it wasn’t Ladybug’s job to make excuses for villains- it was Chat Noir’s job to stop fighting on the side of evil.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Apparently the last guardian- the one that had chosen Marinette and Chat Noir- had been intercepted on his way to deliver Chat Noir’s Miraculous. And while Tikki was convinced that this Chat Noir was still the one the guardian had picked… he must’ve picked wrong? Either that, or Hawkmoth had something over him. Why else would somebody side with the people destroying their home?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It’s </span>
  <em>
    <span>possible</span>
  </em>
  <span> that Hawkmoth is blackmailing him, and Chat Noir would be in danger if he disobeyed him.” Tikki said quietly, and her eyes were full of a quiet sympathy for Marinette, “But you must understand… that isn’t necessarily </span>
  <em>
    <span>likely. </span>
  </em>
  <span>There’s a real possibility that Chat Noir just wants the same thing Hawkmoth is after: </span>
  <em>
    <span>power.”</span>
  </em>
  <span> She shook her head sadly, “Plagg- Chat Noir’s kwami- has had a lot of bad holders over the years. And until we’re given a reason not to, we’ve gotta assume that this is one of them.’</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Then why did he take the fall for me?</span>
  </em>
  <span> Marinette considered arguing, but she bit her tongue. Again, it wasn’t her job to defend Chat Noir’s actions. But as she closed her eyes to sleep, all Marinette could see was Chat Noir’s face falling as Ladybug rebuked him… not the eyes of a villain, or even of somebody that was just plain selfish.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They were the eyes of somebody that was really </span>
  <em>
    <span>hurting,</span>
  </em>
  <span> even if he was putting up a front. Even when he was cracking a joke, or playfully flirting with Ladybug or Rena… there was something going on with him.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>After all, why else would he care about protecting innocent people?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah… I guess.” Marinette murmured, not interested in arguing with her.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>__________</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>If you will not do what is necessary to bring her back…”</span>
  </em>
  <span> Gabriel paused, studying Adrien’s expression closely, </span>
  <em>
    <span>“Then I’ll find somebody who will.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Adrien paced back and forth in his bedroom, replaying his father’s words in his head over and over again as he walked. He didn’t really mean that… did he? Sure, Chat Noir had caused a </span>
  <em>
    <span>few</span>
  </em>
  <span> problems during the fights, and he </span>
  <em>
    <span>probably</span>
  </em>
  <span> needed to focus a bit more on the mission, but Adrien wasn’t expendable, was he? </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>This was something they were doing </span>
  <em>
    <span>together…</span>
  </em>
  <span> a mission to bring back Adrien’s mother, no matter the cost!</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A mission that Plagg was certainly critical of… Adrien cringed, realizing that his kwami was perhaps the only person(?) he could talk to about all of this.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hey… Plagg?” Adrien called out to his kwami hesitantly.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Plagg didn’t even look at Adrien, instead choosing to continue munching on a slice of swiss cheese as he stared out of Adrien’s gigantic window at the sunset. Fortunately, Adrien had managed to unseal the kwami’s mouth, but Plagg was yet to say a word about the entire incident downstairs.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Um…” Adrien started, biting his lip awkwardly, “I know you’re probably still mad at me, but I was wondering if we could maybe… talk?” Adrien hesitated, “I didn’t mean to seal your mouth like that, and I just-” Adrien stopped when Plagg continued to ignore him.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>An uncomfortable </span>
  <em>
    <span>tightness</span>
  </em>
  <span> grew in Adrien’s chest. He wasn’t particularly close with Plagg- the kwami generally minded his own business, after all- but the thought of Plagg giving him the silent treatment from here on out bothered Adrien </span>
  <em>
    <span>far</span>
  </em>
  <span> more than he’d have expected. He stared at Plagg’s back, unable to stop himself from recalling his father’s cold avoidance whenever a young Adrien misbehaved.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>In particular, Adrien remembered a time when his father had confined him to his room for an entire </span>
  <em>
    <span>week</span>
  </em>
  <span> after Adrien (seven at the time) had spilled water on the designer’s sketchbook. He’d seen his mother several times every day- usually to bring him food- but other than that? Adrien remembered spending hours on end staring at the wall, wondering how he could regain his father’s trust.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Why can’t I do </span>
  </em>
  <b>
    <em>anything </em>
  </b>
  <em>
    <span>right!?</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Look, I’m sorry about what happened down there!” Adrien blurted, his voice breaking as he spoke, “I- I didn’t know I could do that to you, and I would never…” He trailed off, unable to stop his eyes from becoming the </span>
  <em>
    <span>slightest</span>
  </em>
  <span> bit wet, “I’m sorry, Plagg! And I know that you- you can’t forgive me, and I let you down, and you probably don’t want anything to do with me anymore-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Whoa, whoa, whoa.” Plagg finally spoke as he turned around, and Adrien was astonished to see </span>
  <em>
    <span>concern</span>
  </em>
  <span> written on his kwami’s face, “Adrien, buddy. You need to calm down. Why wouldn’t I want anything to do with you anymore?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Plagg floated away from the windowsill at high speed, landing on Adrien’s nightstand to face the boy as he paced. The small cat looked both nervous and confused as he studied Adrien up and down, his eyes widening as he noticed the tears in his wielder’s eyes.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I- you- I mean…” Adrien stuttered, blindsided by the kwami’s sudden response. He rubbed his eyes a bit, trying to deal with the tears that were still flowing.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Listen.” Plagg said, his voice softer than Adrien had ever heard before, “You’re right- I </span>
  <em>
    <span>am</span>
  </em>
  <span> a bit upset that you silenced me down there. But I know that you didn’t mean to do it.” Plagg shifted uncomfortably, not sure how to respond to the boy’s tears.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You- you were ignoring me just now.” Adrien’s voice was still shaky- accusatory, even- as he regarded the kwami with distrust.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Shit…” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Plagg muttered anxiously, looking around awkwardly as if there was somebody else nearby that could bail him out, “I was- yeah, I probably shouldn’t have done that. I didn’t realize you-” Plagg swallowed, looking like he’d rather be </span>
  <em>
    <span>anywhere</span>
  </em>
  <span> but here, “I… didn’t think you’d take it so personally.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A variety of emotions flared up within Adrien, as he realized what Plagg’s behavior currently reminded him of. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>In his early years, whenever his mother was at a particularly long filming for one of her movies, Adrien’s father would be in charge of tending to the boy. Almost every display of emotion Adrien’s part would leave his father </span>
  <em>
    <span>painfully</span>
  </em>
  <span> uncomfortable if they weren’t outright scolded- as if Adrien’s feelings were so invalid that they were a burden to the man.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>And just like those awkward hours Adrien spent with his father back then, Adrien realized that Plagg was only with him because he </span>
  <em>
    <span>had</span>
  </em>
  <span> to be. The city hated him for a reason, Ladybug saw right through his act, and Plagg would ditch him in a heartbeat if he could.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Why am I such a mess!?</span>
  </em>
  <span> Adrien sat on the side of his bed, desperately trying to hide his tears as he buried his face into a pillow. He hadn’t cried in </span>
  <em>
    <span>ages,</span>
  </em>
  <span> and he wasn’t supposed to- </span>
  <em>
    <span>especially</span>
  </em>
  <span> not with anybody watching.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hey…” Plagg’s voice was softer now, as he landed on the pillow next to Adrien, “Look at me.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Adrien complied, doing his very best to keep his face neutral.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’m sorry I ignored you.” Plagg said quietly, “I’m just… not used to having a wielder like you-” Plagg’s eyes widened, as he realized what he’d said, “In a good way! Most of the kids I end up with aren’t…” Plagg looked around frantically, as though physically searching for the right words.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“They’re not this pathetic, are they?” Adrien said, doing everything in his power not to </span>
  <em>
    <span>sniffle, </span>
  </em>
  <span>“It’s okay… you can say it. I know I’m a mess-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“That is </span>
  <em>
    <span>not</span>
  </em>
  <span> what I was going to say.” Plagg interrupted, eyes narrowing slightly, “Usually… when one of my cats gets upset, they take it out on somebody that isn’t themselves.” He winced, recalling some particularly nasty scenarios, “And… over the years that’s led to some pretty serious consequences.” Plagg sighed, “You, on the other hand- you’re not like that. And I guess I’m just not used to it.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Adrien blinked, not immediately convinced.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He considered the kwamis words further. Plagg’s power was pretty serious- his father had made that clear the entire time. Cataclysm could destroy literally </span>
  <em>
    <span>anything,</span>
  </em>
  <span> ignoring both size and durability, meaning that this ring was one of the deadliest weapons in existence.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>In the wrong hands… Adrien didn’t even want to </span>
  <em>
    <span>think</span>
  </em>
  <span> about what would happen.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Bold of you to assume that you’re not the ‘wrong hands.’</span>
  </em>
  <span> A cynical part of Adrien’s mind seemed to mock him.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh, swiss- I’ve never been the best at these kinds of talks.” Plagg sighed, “Just- just know that I’m not mad at you right now. And while I’d obviously rather we dump the ken doll in the red pants and help Ladybug-”</span>
  <span></span>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>
  <span>“Um… what?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“-I understand that it’s not happening. At least… not </span>
  <em>
    <span>yet.” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Plagg gave him a pointed look, “But in the meantime? You’re a good kid, Adrien. You keep me fed, you don’t commit war crimes for the hell of it, and you’re usually pleasant to talk to.” Plagg shook his head again, “And given the circumstances… that’s </span>
  <em>
    <span>way</span>
  </em>
  <span> more than I would’ve expected.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Adrien really wasn’t sure how much of a compliment that was.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well, what were you expecting?” He asked, and Plagg’s expression darkened.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Considering that my ring was stolen by the very man I’m supposed to be fighting, and you’re his son…” Plagg considered his words, “I was expecting you to be another psychopath- probably just a less mature version of you father. Maybe a little bit of bloodlust sprinkled in for good measure. But you’re obviously none of those things.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You flatter me.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>__________</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Marinette’s eyes narrowed when she spotted Alya and Nino sitting together on the steps in front of the school, laughing together as they watched something on Alya’s phone. Nino reached a hand out, resting it on Alya’s back nervously, but the girl didn’t seem to notice. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Something</span>
  </em>
  <span> was definitely going on between them, even if they hadn’t revealed identities.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She supposed she was… happy for them? Even though it meant she was third wheeling as both Ladybug and Marinette now.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Figures.” Marinette muttered, shaking her head as she walked, not noticing as she marched straight into Adrien Agreste’s chest.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Gah!” Both teens cried out in unison, eyes widening in shock. Marinette, being the smaller of the pair, was the one that took the brunt of the impact, dropping her purse. She would’ve completely toppled over if Adrien didn’t manage to reach out and grab her arm, just before she reached the point of no return.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>For a long moment, they simply stared into each other’s eyes- Adrien’s full of concern and nervousness, while Marinette was still trying to process what had happened.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’m so sorry!” Adrien finally managed, releasing her arm as he spoke, “I just saw Nino over there and I wasn’t looking-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No, you’re fine!” Marinette interrupted awkwardly, speaking much louder than necessary, “I wasn’t looking either, so it’s my fault too.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It was pretty typical of Adrien to blame himself in these sorts of situations. He was a new student- and not just at Francois Dupont. As the son of the esteemed designer Gabriel Agreste, Adrien had been homeschooled for the first thirteen and a half years of his life, resulting in a boy that was completely out of his depth in a Parisian public school. His only friend before this was </span>
  <em>
    <span>Chloe,</span>
  </em>
  <span> which only made matters worse.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Marinette cringed internally as she remembered the day they met. Marinette had jumped to conclusions- assuming that Adrien was planting gum on her seat when in reality he was just trying to take it off for her. Marinette had been fully prepared to despise him as much as Chloe, when Nino of all people pulled her aside to explain that he’d seen the whole thing; Adrien was innocent.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>And ever since then? Marinette quickly realized that the blond boy had a heart of gold- </span>
  <em>
    <span>nothing</span>
  </em>
  <span> like Chloe. Marinette made sure to do everything she could to try and make Adrien feel welcome here since they got off on the wrong foot, but she always felt like she wasn’t getting through. He seemed almost </span>
  <em>
    <span>anxious</span>
  </em>
  <span> in her presence, as though he was afraid she might get mad at him again. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Not unlike how Rena Rouge and Carapace sometimes treated Ladybug…</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“So…” Marinette tried to break the ice a bit as she picked up her purse, “When’s the wedding?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Adrien stared at her, jaw dropping and cheeks reddening.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“...for them.” Marinette nodded at Alya and Nino, smiling slightly at his confusion.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh!” Adrien laughed nervously, “Right… yeah, they do seem close, don’t they? I’m pretty sure Nino’s crazy about her…” Adrien winced, “Not that I would know anything about that sort of thing.” He slumped slightly.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well, I think you’re right this time, and I’m pretty sure the feeling’s mutual.” Marinette smirked as she saw Alya lean into Nino’s neck a bit. As complicated as secret identities were, Marinette was still a romantic at heart. And seeing the two of them together… she’d have to be cold-hearted to not find it touching.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The rest of the conversation with Adrien went pretty smoothly, at least for them. They decided to walk to the classroom together, and fell into an easy chat about their weekends. Marinette mentioned seeing him in the park for his photoshoot, just before Stormy Weather attacked. She and Alya had gone out to walk with Manon- Marinette was babysitting- and then Alya had volunteered to let her stay behind and observe the photoshoot, considering it was her dream to become a designer.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Adrien seemed pretty nervous when she mentioned Stormy Weather, probably because the akuma attack had been so close to him. After all, Mr. Agreste kept Adrien on a pretty tight leash according to Nino, meaning he probably wasn’t used to dangerous situations of any kind.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She supposed that none of them really were, at least when it came to magical terrorism.</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I promise we'll get a more exciting chapter next time :)</p><p>Keep in mind that Adrien is socially inept, and his interpretation of Plagg's behavior is not necessarily accurate.</p><p>Thanks for reading!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Evilustrator (i)</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I decided to break this chapter / episode into two parts because it was getting ridiculously long.</p><p>Hope you enjoy!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“You kids are <em> adorable, </em> you know that?” Plagg snickered as Adrien slid into the men’s room.</p><p> </p><p>“What?” Adrien blushed slightly, and glanced around frantically to make sure they were alone before continuing, “You were listening to me and Marinette?”</p><p> </p><p>Even though it was between classes, Adrien was lucky enough to be the bathroom’s sole occupant- at least for the time being.</p><p> </p><p>“I’m <em> always </em> listening.” Plagg yawned, as though this was obvious, “But I’m making a call. I’ve just decided that- effective today- you will be receiving some world-class commentary and advice from me- absolutely free of charge!” Plagg smirked, “And don’t you dare act like you don’t need it. You looked like you were trying to catch flies with that mouth of yours.”</p><p> </p><p>Adrien winced, “First off: talking to me while I use the restroom is just plain weird. And second: I wasn’t <em> that </em> bad-”</p><p> </p><p>“Trust me.” Plagg laughed, as Adrien finished his business, “You’re gonna need some <em> serious </em> help if you want Pigtails to go out with you sometime this century.”</p><p> </p><p>Adrien rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment after washing his hands- was he really that obvious? Plagg was right, of course. Marinette was talented, creative, charming… <em> beautiful. </em> He’d only known her for a little over a month, but he already felt an inexplicable attachment to the raven-haired girl. Probably because she was one of the first people to actually talk to him at school after Nino- even if it was for all the wrong reasons.</p><p> </p><p>A feeling of sadness welled up inside of Adrien as he thought about his crush, however. He really would like to be with Marinette, but it would be foolish to suck her into his life.</p><p> </p><p>Nobody deserved to have to put up with all of his baggage, least of all Marinette.</p><p> </p><p>“I don’t know, Plagg…” Adrien said quietly, deciding to deflect a bit, “I’m pretty sure she only talks to me because she feels bad for accusing me on the first day… that, and she probably pities me for being the shy new kid.”</p><p> </p><p>“Ah, so she’s an observant one-”</p><p> </p><p>“Oh would you can it?” Adrien rolled his eyes, but was pleasantly surprised at how comfortable his banter with Plagg was already becoming. “Besides, have you seen how popular she is? Marinette is <em> way </em> out of my league-”</p><p> </p><p>“You are <em> literally </em> a supermodel.” Plagg snorted, “Try again.”</p><p> </p><p>“I’m pretty sure she’s not that shallow.” Adrien argued, and Plagg rolled his eyes, “In any case, it <em> can’t </em> be a good idea for me to get involved with somebody right now. They think that I’m the <em> bad guy, </em> in case you’ve forgotten, and for good reason. I don’t think Marinette- or any other girl, for that matter- would want to get involved with a literal <em> villain.” </em></p><p> </p><p>“You’re joking, right?” Plagg choked, and burst out laughing when Adrien gave him a blank stare.</p><p> </p><p>“I’m not kidding!” Adrien insisted, completely baffled as to why Plagg would even question it, “Chat Noir is bad news and-”</p><p> </p><p>“Oh, my poor sweet kitten…” Plagg floated above Adrien sympathetically, patting him on the head with one of his paws, “You have no idea, do you?" He sighed, "You really were lost without my guidance, huh?"</p><p> </p><p>“What's <em>that</em> supposed to mean? ” Adrien scowled, “And besides, I'm not <em>that</em> bad. You saw me flirt with Ladybug yesterday, right? That’s something-”</p><p> </p><p>“You call <em> that </em> flirting?” Plagg stared in disbelief, but quickly smiled again as he shook his oversized head, eyes glowing, “It’s official: I’m adopting you.”</p><p> </p><p>“Oh, give me a break.” Adrien rolled his eyes as he finished washing his hands.</p><p> </p><p>“No.” Plagg shook his head, “The paperwork is going through as we speak- you are no longer the son of Hawkmoth. You are now <em> my </em> son. My cat-son.”</p><p> </p><p>“Last I checked, I’m the one footing the bill for your cheese.” Adrien teased, but was startled to realize that he didn't actually hate the idea.</p><p> </p><p>Quite the opposite, actually- Adrien felt warm inside at the kwami's words, and found himself smiling genuinely as he returned to class.</p><p> </p><p>__________</p><p> </p><p>Marinette settled down into the seat next to Alya for the last period of the day, sighing slightly as she saw her best friend’s eyes were <em> still </em> trained on a certain dark-haired boy that sat in front of them. Nino and Adrien were working together on the class assignment- a bland worksheet that Marinette and Alya were theoretically also working on.</p><p> </p><p>“You know, I’m sure Adrien would be happy to trade seats if you want.” Marinette teased, snapping Alya out of her trance.</p><p> </p><p>“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” Alya smiled slyly as she went back to working on the assignment.</p><p> </p><p>“Don’t think the two of us didn’t notice you guys this morning.” Marinette clucked in mock disapproval, “I’m pretty sure your little display was enough to scar Adrien- you should’ve seen the look on his face when we saw you.”</p><p> </p><p>The blond boy tilted his head when Marinette said his name, causing her to realize that they should probably keep their voices down.</p><p> </p><p>“Girl, you <em> know </em> we’re just friends.” Alya rolled her eyes playfully.</p><p> </p><p>“For now, maybe.” Marinette smirked, and Alya winked in response.</p><p> </p><p>As comfortable as their friendship had become, a part of Marinette still felt guilty- after all, she knew Alya’s identity, but not vice versa. It made their relationship unbalanced, and Marinette <em> hated </em> keeping a secret this big from her new best friend. Marinette wanted to tell her everything, even before she chose her as Rena Rouge, but Tikki had made it clear from the start- <em> nobody </em> was allowed to know that Marinette was Ladybug, not even Rena Rouge and Carapace-</p><p> </p><p><em> “Nathaniel!” </em> Ms. Mendeleev’s shrill voice exploded from the back of the classroom, “That doesn’t look like the work I assigned!”</p><p> </p><p>“Wha- what?” The shy boy in the back of the classroom turned as red as his hair when the science teacher scooped up his sketchbook and began reading.</p><p> </p><p>Marinette silently fumed- she had <em> no right! </em> Nathaniel definitely wasn’t supposed to have that out during class, but that was still no excuse for Ms. Mendeleev to go rifling through his stuff like this! As a designer herself, Marinette took particular offence, and was about to speak out. </p><p> </p><p>But before she could say anything, Ms. Mendeleev’s hawkish eyes trained on Marinette, darting back and forth between the girl and the sketchbook.</p><p> </p><p>“These artistic endeavors are <em> certainly </em> the reason you’re failing this class.” Ms. Mendeleev growled, but surprisingly handed the book right back to Nathaniel rather than showing the class like Marinette had feared, “You go march yourself down the principal’s office and explain to Mr. Damocles what’s going on here.”</p><p> </p><p>“S-Sorry.” Nathaniel spluttered, utterly humiliated as he scrambled out of his seat, clutching the sketchbook against his chest.</p><p> </p><p>Mylene saw him coming, and her eyes widened in realization as the boy tripped over her bag, face planting onto the hard floor as the drawings slid out of his grasp- the class let out a collective gasp as he fell, most of the students calling out to ask if he was okay, but it was too late. The sketchbook slid all the way to the front of the room, right next to where <em> Chloe </em> was sitting.</p><p> </p><p>“Ooh, what’s this?” Chloe scooped it up, and then burst out laughing when she took a peek at the open page, “Look, Sabrina- it’s him… as a <em> superhero!” </em> Sabrina immediately started laughing when Chloe signalled, “And who’s he saving here? Well… if it isn’t our dear class president.” Marinette’s eyes widened when the blonde girl’s gaze settled on <em> her. </em></p><p> </p><p>“Oh my!” Chloe pretended to swoon, as she showed Marinette the page in question, “Looks like the tomato has a crush on <em> you, </em> Dupain-Cheng. As if we needed <em> more </em> proof that he’s an idiot.”</p><p> </p><p>“Chloe-” Nathaniel’s eyes widened in horror, “Give that back!”</p><p> </p><p>Marinette was usually one to stand up for people when they were bullied, but she could only stare dumbly this time. Sure enough, the sketchbook showed a drawing of what looked to be Marinette herself (very well drawn, but that wasn’t the point) in between a dangerous looking supervillain and what looked like Nathaniel as a hero.</p><p> </p><p>Marinetted looked between Chloe, Nathaniel, and the sketchbook as though somebody was about to tell her this was all a giant prank.</p><p> </p><p>After all, <em> Nathaniel </em> had a crush on her? Marinette flushed, realizing that she’d kind of assumed for a while now that the red-haired boy didn’t like girls… an assumption she now realized must’ve been inaccurate as well as presumptuous. She liked Nathaniel as a friend- she’d known him since the second grade, after all- but she couldn’t say she saw him as anything more than that.</p><p> </p><p>“Chloe!” Ms. Mendeleev barked, about ready to blow a fuse over the way her class continued to be disrupted, “Return that book at once so Nathaniel can do as I told him!”</p><p> </p><p>Nathaniel spared Marinette a look of pure humiliation as he accepted his sketchbook back from a smug-looking Chloe. He practically ran out of the classroom as soon as he had his hands on it, and Marinette could’ve sworn she saw <em> tears </em> forming in his eyes.</p><p> </p><p>“Was that <em> really </em> necessary?” Adrien scowled at Chloe, but his heart wasn’t into it. Instead, he was looking in the direction Nathaniel had gone running, a nervous look dominating his features. Marinette frowned, realizing that Alya and Nino shared a similar expression.</p><p> </p><p>Marinette was confused at first, and then audibly <em> groaned. </em> </p><p> </p><p>
  <em> Well, you never know. Maybe he’ll be able to calm down before Hawkmoth gets him? </em>
</p><p> </p><p>__________</p><p> </p><p>Nathaniel was not able to calm down in time.</p><p> </p><p>Fortunately the entire superhero team was literally in the same class, so their response time was extremely fast, but that didn’t make the battle any easier. Nathaniel- now the <em> Evilustrator- </em> was able to make his drawings come to life, facilitated by the magical tablet Hawkmoth had fastened to his arm. </p><p> </p><p>The fight began when Evilustrator came straight for Chloe (big surprise) by spawning in a gigantic hair dryer to harass her. And despite having stared down countless supervillains at this point without a care in the world, <em> this </em> was the thing to set Chloe over the edge. She was <em> terrified, </em> begging Ladybug and the team to keep her safe within ten seconds.</p><p> </p><p>“How <em> dare </em> you!?” Evilustrator was outraged when he realized that the superhero team was interceding on his bully’s behalf, “You three… you’re not heroes! <em> She’s </em> the bad guy here, not me!”</p><p> </p><p>Ladybug had been tempted to leave the blonde girl alone, <em> especially </em> since the Evilustrator’s attacks wouldn’t have caused any serious injury, but it was a chance she still couldn’t afford to take.</p><p> </p><p>“She may not be a ‘good guy.’” Ladybug mimed quotations, “But I can’t let you hurt her!”</p><p> </p><p>“She’s right!” Rena Rouge chimed in, causing Ladybug’s chest to swell with pride as her best friend rushed to her defence, “I don’t care <em> what </em>she did- right now, she’s just another person.”</p><p> </p><p>“Then I suppose I’ll have to settle for killing <em> all </em> of you!” Evilustrator bellowed, and Ladybug’s eyes widened as he spawned in a gigantic <em> hammer, </em> one that was rushing straight towards the still exposed Chloe-</p><p> </p><p>“Easy there, Picasso.” Chat Noir’s voice came from on top of the bookshelves. His baton shot out, striking the hammer out of the air mere <em> inches </em> from Chloe’s face, “Maybe keep the hammering to a minimum?”</p><p> </p><p>“Not you, too!” Evilustrator was outraged of course, but a butterfly outline quickly appeared over his face to calm him down.</p><p> </p><p><em> Again. </em> Ladybug sighed internally. Chat Noir had the element of surprise- <em> none </em>of the heroes had noticed him arrive. But rather than using that as an opportunity to pounce, and potentially snag somebody’s Miraculous right off the bat, he instead decided to announce his presence by protecting an innocent civilian.</p><p> </p><p>“Great- we’ve got company.” Carapace muttered, and Chat Noir beamed at the heroic trio.</p><p> </p><p>“Good to see you too, Michelangelo!”</p><p> </p><p>The rest of the library skirmish was even more hectic. Evilustrator attacked relentlessly, toppling countless shelves in an effort to capture Chloe, while Rena Rouge and Carapace moved to protect her. Carapace was forced to use his shelter to shield the blonde girl from one of the falling bookcases- effectively burying both of them underneath.</p><p> </p><p>Rena Rouge looked alarmed, but managed to keep her poise. Without missing a beat, the fox heroine used her mirage ability to create a wave of fake superheroes in the hope of distracting Chat Noir.</p><p> </p><p>“Sorry, but the nose knows.” Chat Noir shook his head, unfazed as a fake Ladybug tried to grab him. The illusions vanished in a puff of smoke as the feline villain lashed out, grabbing onto the real Rena Rouge and flinging her against the library wall while Ladybug tried to catch up with Evilustrator.</p><p> </p><p>“This is <em> pointless.” </em>Evilustrator complained, drawing a literal brick wall to impede Ladybug’s progress, “Just give me Chloe and I’ll leave you alone!”</p><p> </p><p>“Hawkmoth would be <em> very </em> disappointed to hear you say that.” Chat Noir called from the other end of the library, parrying Rena Rouge’s flute with his baton, “We had a deal! A cool new tablet in exchange for half of absolute power- sound familiar?”</p><p> </p><p>Unfortunately, Evilustrator proved to be cunning as well as was powerful. Ladybug tried to snatch the tablet away from him with her yoyo, but the villain simply sidestepped, taking the opportunity to slip out of the library with a jetpack he materialized onto his shoulders. Ladybug moved to intercept, but she yelped in surprise as a massive box made of clear plastic clamped down around her on all sides.</p><p> </p><p>“I’ll be back.” Evilustrator growled, shattering one of the library’s windows as he made his exit.</p><p> </p><p>“Oh, come on!” Chat Noir shook his head in disbelief, sparing Ladybug a look, “You see what I’m working with here?”</p><p> </p><p>Rena Rouge swung her flute yet again, but Chat Noir ducked- slipping underneath her guard and backflipping down to the library’s first floor. He gave a cheeky two-fingered salute as he rushed out the library’s door, an infuriatingly smug look on his face as he vanished from the heroes’ sight.</p><p> </p><p>The girls were unimpressed.</p><p> </p><p>Rena Rouge groaned as her necklace beeped. “I can’t go after them…”</p><p> </p><p>“It’s fine.” Ladybug sighed, and bent over to try and lift the box, “Just… go see if you can help Carapace and Chloe.”</p><p> </p><p><em> Stupid. </em> Ladybug grunted as the box moved slightly. She couldn’t help but feel like this was all her own fault to an extent- she should’ve gone after Nathaniel, and tried to calm him down. And once he was akumatized, they should’ve been able to end the fight before right here in the library- Evilustrator and Chat Noir were outnumbered, and this was an incredibly tight space.</p><p> </p><p>“Carapace!” Rena Rouge began peeling the books and shelves away, while Chloe’s complaining could be heard from inside.</p><p> </p><p>“Ridiculous!” Chloe whined, <em> “Utterly </em> ridiculous! Who does he think he is? My father will be hearing about this!”</p><p> </p><p><em> Well, it’s not </em> <b> <em>just </em> </b> <em> my fault… </em></p><p> </p><p>Ladybug sighed, rubbing her forehead to fight a growing headache as the box refused to budge, “Would you <em> be quiet, </em> Chloe? I wasn’t there, but I’m willing to bet that you’re not entirely blameless this time." Ladybug shook her head, realizing that she had no other way of getting out, “Lucky charm…” A small blowtorch landed in her hands, prompting a slight smile from the spotted heroine.</p><p> </p><p>“Is she <em> ever?” </em> Carapace muttered from within the forcefield, finally lowering it as Rena Rouge cleared away enough space for them to safely move.</p><p> </p><p>"Well, for your information, I was actually being <em>helpful</em> this time." Chloe turned up her nose as Ladybug finished destroying her prison, "That weirdo was drawing pictures of Dupain-Cheng without her knowing, so I called him out on it."</p><p> </p><p>Ladybug frowned, genuinely unsure if Chloe meant what she was saying, "Well... next time find a way that <em>doesn't</em> involve a supervillain getting created?"</p><p> </p><p>"Ugh." Chloe rolled her eyes, <em>"Fine."</em></p><p> </p><p>“Looks like we’re all almost out of juice.” Ladybug winced as all three of their Miraculous started beeping again, “I’ll go home and recharge… meet you guys back at Chloe’s place once we’re all ready again?”</p><p> </p><p>“Do we have a choice?” Rena Rouge sighed, and looked at Chloe, “She’ll probably come after you again, so I guess you’re our only lead.”</p><p> </p><p><em> “Unfortunately.” </em> Ladybug sighed, giving her team a quick nod before swinging away.</p><p> </p><p>__________</p><p> </p><p>“Where do you think you’re going!?” Chat Noir caught up to Evilustrator, startled to realize that he was perched across the street from the Dupain-Cheng bakery.</p><p> </p><p>“None of your business.” The villain growled, and Chat Noir frowned- was his father not transformed right now?</p><p> </p><p>“Uh, yeah it is.” Chat Noir said evenly, “You made a deal!”</p><p> </p><p>“Don’t care.” Evilustrator ignored him, and went back to looking at the bakery with a wistful expression.</p><p> </p><p>Chat Noir frowned again, and decided to check his baton. As weird as it was, the magical device actually had a phone number of its own- even though his father and Nathalie were the only ones that had it. It could also be used to contact the other Miraculous, but there was even less of a reason to use that feature- save for the rare occasions, Hawkmoth needed to call him.</p><p> </p><p>Sure enough, there was one new message.</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>Nathalie: Your father had to transform back. There’s been an emergency with the fall line that demands his attention, so he’s entrusted you to see this battle to the end.</b>
</p><p> </p><p>Chat Noir sighed- this <em> did </em> happen sometimes, although it was rare.</p><p> </p><p>Nathalie said that it was an ‘emergency,’ likely to preserve his father’s image, but Adrien knew that it was more likely his father simply forgot about a meeting. He may have been the mastermind of both fashion company and a supervillain team (even if it had no more than three members at a time), but Gabriel Agreste would be nothing without Nathalie to both prepare his schedule and enforce it.</p><p> </p><p>“So… you wanna get a snack or something?” Chat Noir joked, when he saw that the Evilustrator was still just staring at the bakery, “I know I’m not exactly popular with the locals, but I’m sure they’d still serve us if we asked nicely.”</p><p> </p><p>“I’m not hungry.” The villain dismissed, and Chat Noir sighed.</p><p> </p><p>“Okay, I’ll be more direct then.” Chat Noir rolled his eyes, <em> “Why </em> are you staring at this random bakery?”</p><p> </p><p>He was pretty sure he knew the answer. This was <em> Marinette’s </em> home, and Adrien had learned a few minutes ago that Nathaniel had a crush on her.</p><p> </p><p>That made him slightly more angry than it should have.</p><p> </p><p>“You wouldn’t understand.” Evilustrator shook his head, “The girl that lives here… she’s <em> special.” </em> His eyes lit up with something besides hate or frustration for the first time since his akumatization.</p><p> </p><p>Chat Noir, however, was unimpressed. He’d have objected to Evilustrator harassing <em> any </em> innocent civilian, much more <em> Marinette. </em> Chat Noir let out a feline growl, hissing as he stepped between Evilustrator and the bakery.</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah, well I’m pretty sure this qualifies as <em> stalking.” </em> Chat Noir scowled, “You look like you’re two seconds away from drawing up a video camera and peeping through her window!”</p><p> </p><p>“I would <em> never!” </em> He looked scandalized at the suggestion, “The fact that you would even <em> think </em> that says a lot more about you than-”</p><p> </p><p>“Oh don’t even try to turn this around on me.” Chat Noir rolled his eyes, “Whatever you’re planning… just <em> don’t. </em> The last thing this poor girl needs is you bothering her.”</p><p> </p><p>“It wouldn’t be a <em> bother. </em> I intend to ask her on a <em> date!” </em></p><p> </p><p>Chat Noir blinked in confusion</p><p> </p><p>“A date?” Chat Noir echoed in disbelief, “You’re insane!”</p><p> </p><p>“And what would you have me do?” Evilustrator scowled, “She is my light… my <em> purpose! </em> The only reason I pursued Chloe was not to avenge myself but to avenge <em> her! </em> My fair princess deserves the <em> world! </em>I’m nothing without her…” He didn’t seem to notice Chat Noir staring at him in utter revulsion.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> Good god these guys get weird when Father leaves them alone… </em>
</p><p> </p><p>“Okay, so what happens when she rejects you?” Chat Noir demanded, “You know… like any <em> sane </em>person would!?”</p><p> </p><p>“She won’t.” Evilustrator grinned, “Fate has bound us together… it’ll take more than mere words to drive us apart-”</p><p> </p><p>“And Plagg said <em> I </em> had it bad.” Chat Noir muttered to himself.</p><p> </p><p>Fortunately, the two villains were too busy arguing to notice as a red figure landed atop the bakery, detransforming as she lowered herself through the trapdoor…</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Next time: Marinette gets asked out by one dangerous supervillain, while the other one offers to protect her.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Evilustrator (ii)</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Marinette gets visited by two supervillains, while Chloe is confronted by two superheroes.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Looks like you get three parts to this arc. This part was stretching on for WAYYY too long as it is, and I realized that wrapping it up here would just be ridiculous.</p><p>With that being said, enjoy!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Are you okay?” Tikki’s voice was concerned as Marinette landed on her bed.</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah… why wouldn’t I be?” Marinette sighed, sliding down her ladder and rummaging through one of her drawers to find some food for Tikki, “Do you want the strawberry macarons, or is plain okay?”</p><p> </p><p>“Whichever you have more of, thank you.” Tikki smiled warmly, but her expression darkened, “Marinette, I can <em> feel </em> your emotions when you’re transformed. It’s okay if you don’t want to talk about it, but I can tell you’re upset about something.”</p><p> </p><p>Marinette said nothing for a moment, simply offering the kwami one of the plain macarons she had fixed up in her free time yesterday.</p><p> </p><p>On the one hand, Marinette didn’t feel particularly close with Tikki. They weren’t really friends… even if they were on amicable terms. Tikki was much more of a business associate- a partner, even, but not a friend. But on the other hand…. Marinette <em> did </em> want to share how she felt, and this little spotted creature was the only one she could confide in without confessing to her double life. </p><p> </p><p>“I’m just… getting overwhelmed, I guess.” Marinette said quietly, while Tikki softly munched on the snack, “I wish I could share more about the guardian stuff with Alya and Nino. I wish I knew if Chloe was <em> actually </em> trying to help me, or if she was just trying to impress Ladybug.” Marinette sighed again, rubbing her forehead.</p><p> </p><p>Tikki opened her mouth to speak, but Marinette wasn’t finished.</p><p> </p><p>“I wish… I wish I’d done something to stop Nathaniel from getting akumatized.” Marinette winced, recalling the humiliated look on the boy’s face, “I wish Chat Noir would stop working for Hawkmoth.” Marinette blinked, surprised by her own words, but she was willing to stand behind them.</p><p> </p><p>“Your feelings are understandable.” Tikki smiled sadly, nuzzling against Marinette’s hand as she ate, “You’re a good Ladybug, Marinette. Already one of the best I’ve ever had.”</p><p> </p><p>Marinette arched an eyebrow, surprised to hear such direct praise and affection from her usually-reserved companion. Was something bothering her?</p><p> </p><p>“I’m sure you say that to all of your holders.” Marinette teased, and Tikki giggled.</p><p> </p><p>“Well… I say it more often than I should.” Tikki admitted with an apologetic smile, “But I promise I mean it. You’ve been left with no guardian to guide you, and no Chat Noir to back you up.”</p><p> </p><p>“Well, we’ve made it work so far.” Marinette said softly.</p><p> </p><p>Tikki shook her head, expression darkening a bit, “Yeah, but you shouldn’t <em> have </em> to. You’re in charge of mentoring heroes with even <em> less </em>experience than you, all because-” Tikki’s eyes widened in shock, as she stared right behind her wielder.</p><p> </p><p>“What?” Marinette blinked, turning around to see a strange energy growing on her bedroom wall.</p><p> </p><p>Tikki moved- flying away and phasing into Marinette’s purse without missing a beat as the wall literally vanished, revealing the Evilustrator on the other side. He was perched on top of some strange hoverboard he must’ve drawn, and he was looking straight at her.</p><p> </p><p>“N-Nathaniel?” Marinette’s eyes widened in panic. <em> Had she been followed? </em></p><p> </p><p>“It’s good to see you, Marinette.” The villain said softly, “It’s Evilustrator now, by the way. I know you didn’t know.” He shifted shyly as he spoke, “I’m sorry to surprise you like this… I guess I should’ve knocked, huh?”</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah, no shit.” A new voice came from behind Evilustrator- none other than Chat Noir. The feline hung from the collapsed portion of Marinette’s roof, fixing the akumatized villain with a look of pure disdain, “You’re really set on this, aren’t you?”</p><p> </p><p>Marinette was now ninety percent certain that her identity was safe, even though having two supervillains in her bedroom was still <em> terrifying. </em> Chat Noir didn’t look even slightly suspicious of her, and Evilustrator seemed to be almost… nervous? What would a supervillain have to be nervous of?</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> Oh. </em>
</p><p> </p><p>“Stay out of this!” Evilustrator snarled, snapping right back at his companion, “This is between myself and Marinette- you have no business here!”</p><p> </p><p>“I’m pretty sure we have that in common.” Chat Noir shook his head, and looked over at Marinette with an apologetic smile, “Sorry. I promise I won’t let him hurt you.”</p><p> </p><p>Evilustrator balked at the insinuation, while Marinette blinked. It was one thing to see Chat Noir try and temper a villain’s rampage while cracking jokes and making stupid nicknames… seeing him try to offer genuine reassurance to a cornered civilian was something else entirely. And while Marinette technically had no reason to trust him, she’d be lying if she didn’t admit that his words made her relax just the slightest bit.</p><p> </p><p>“Just… let me say what I need to say!” Evilustrator demanded. Chat Noir sighed, leaning back impatentiently but making no move to stop Evilustrator from speaking- even as he kept a vigilant eye on the scene.</p><p> </p><p>“Marinette.” Evilustrator’s voice was soft again, “I’m here to ask you something.” He scribbled something on his tablet, spawning in a bouquet of red roses, “Today’s my birthday- and it would mean <em> so much </em> to me if you’d meet me for a date tonight. Down by the river, at ten o’clock, I’ll have a romantic night ready.”</p><p> </p><p>“Oh, brother.” Chat Noir rolled his eyes, but Evilustrator ignored him.</p><p> </p><p>“All year now...” Evilustrator continued, leaning in slightly closer, “...ever since the first time you stood up to Chloe, I’ve admired you from afar. We’ve been friends, yes, but I’ve realized that we could be <em> so much </em> more.” He took a deep breath as he offered the roses, You’re amazing, Marinette, and all I ask is that you give me a chance.”</p><p> </p><p>“Oh… wow.” Marinette said lamely, while Evilustrator waited for an answer.</p><p> </p><p>Marinette flushed a bit, taken aback by the villain’s declarations. Were Nathaniel’s feelings for her really this strong? Or was it just the akuma’s influence? Either way, Marinette was <em> so </em> not ready for a dramatic confession. This had never happened to her before… she’d never been on a date, or even kissed anybody. And while she’d envisioned a lot of different possibilities of how it all might go down, this <em> definitely </em> wasn’t it.</p><p> </p><p>She <em> definitely </em> wouldn’t have expected to have Chat Noir watching.</p><p> </p><p>“Easy there, Romeo.” Chat Noir put a hand on his shoulder, “Give her a bit of space, will you?”</p><p> </p><p>“Leave me alone!” Evilustrator snapped, whirling around and taking a swing at Chat’s face. He staggered backwards, clutching at his nose, but there didn’t seem to be any actual injuries because of his superpowers.</p><p> </p><p>He narrowed his eyes, reaching for his baton, but Marinette decided that was enough.</p><p> </p><p>“Hey!” She exclaimed, rushing in between them without thinking. Both boys looked at her with identical expressions of concern as she put one hand on each of their chests, forcing them apart.</p><p> </p><p>Marinette winced, quietly recognizing that a civilian should <em> not </em> be acting this boldly, but it was too late to turn back.</p><p> </p><p>“Could you guys not do this?” Marinette pleaded, “I simply <em> abhor </em> violence, and-”</p><p> </p><p>“Of course, Marinette.” Evilustrator reached out to place a soft hand on her cheek, “Whatever you say, I’ll do it. I didn’t mean to upset you.”</p><p> </p><p>“R-Right.” Marinette was startled by the physical contact, and Chat Noir bristled- although he didn’t move to interfere this time.</p><p> </p><p>“Ten o’clock?” Evilustrator was practically begging at this point, “By the river? <em> Please, </em>all I’m asking is that you give me a chance.”</p><p> </p><p>Marinette’s head spun. On the one hand… going <em> anywhere </em>with a supervillain would be incredibly dangerous, especially when she wasn’t transformed.</p><p> </p><p>But on the other hand… Evilustrator was willing to let his guard down around Marinette. And given the way the library fight had ended, Ladybug didn’t really have many other ways of getting close to him. He could create barriers, spawn in dangerous enemies with just a few strokes of his pen, and their only other lead on where he would show up next was <em> Chloe. </em></p><p> </p><p>She could call up Rena Rouge and Carapace, and ask them to scout out the scene. And although he was still unreliable at best, Chat Noir clearly didn’t plan on letting anything happen to her either. All she had to do was get the akuma away from him- whether it was in his pen or his tablet she didn’t know, but she was confident she could figure it out.</p><p> </p><p>“You don’t have to do this.” Chat Noir said, noticing her indecision, but Marinette had already made up her mind.</p><p> </p><p>“...I’ll do it.” Marinette said quietly, to Evilustrator’s joy and Chat Noir’s chagrin.</p><p> </p><p>“Thank you!” Evilustrator beamed, genuine excitement lighting up his face as he bent down to kiss Marinette’s hand. He shot Chat Noir a somewhat sly expression as he backed away, “I’ll be there a little bit before, to make preparations. You don’t have to worry about a thing, I’ll take care of all of it!”</p><p> </p><p>And with that, the villain recreated his jetpack and proceeded to rocket out of her bedroom. The massive hole in her wall remained, unfortunately.</p><p> </p><p>“Geez.” Chat Noir sighed, rubbing his forehead tiredly. He gave Marinette an unimpressed look, “Why are you doing this?”</p><p> </p><p>She swallowed, not sure exactly what to say. Being alone with Chat Noir was arguably even worse than being with both of them, because now Chat Noir didn’t have a rival supervillain to argue with! Marinette hoped against hope that she wouldn’t do anything to give herself away.</p><p> </p><p>“Well…” Marinette searched for an explanation, “Nathaniel is… <em> nice?” </em></p><p> </p><p>“That’s not your classmate!” Chat Noir practically exploded, “However ‘nice’ he might be in school doesn’t matter- right now, he’s <em> dangerous!” </em></p><p> </p><p>“Like <em> you </em> would care.” Marinette saw an opening to deflect, “Aren’t you supposed to be on his team?”</p><p> </p><p>“In <em> theory.” </em> Chat Noir rolled his eyes. <em> What was she thinking? </em> “I’m still trying to figure out what possessed you to think that accepting a date invitation from a <em> supervillain </em> was a good idea. He’s not in his right mind anyways!”</p><p> </p><p>Maybe Plagg was onto something earlier- Marinette really did seem to like ‘bad boys.’</p><p> </p><p><em> Doesn’t matter. </em> Whether Marinette was making good choices with her love life or not, Chat Noir couldn’t let something happen to her. Evilustrator was… temperamental, to say the least. And without Hawkmoth to keep him under control, Chat Noir had no way of guaranteeing that he wouldn’t try something on Marinette tonight.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> Not like Father would actually do anything anyway… </em>
</p><p> </p><p>“Who I choose to spend my time with is <em> my </em> business!” Marinette argued, “And <em> no, </em> I obviously don’t like seeing Nathaniel like this! Why do you think I’m trying to-” Marinette’s eyes widened, as she realized she’d said too much.</p><p> </p><p>Chat Noir gawked at her, quickly realizing her meaning, “Wait- you mean… you’re gonna try and take his akuma!?”</p><p> </p><p>“W-What? <em> No, </em> I’m not doing that.” Marinette stammered, blushing as she grew more and more flustered, “I can’t save Nathaniel. I’m just a regular, average, completely normal teenage girl-”</p><p> </p><p>“Easy there, <em> Princess.” </em> Chat Noir snorted, raising a hand to quiet her. He regarded his school crush with even more affection as he realized that she was indeed trying to rescue Nathaniel from the akuma’s control. Could she <em> be </em>more awesome? “I admire your guts- really, I do. But I cannot in good conscience let you risk your life like this.”</p><p> </p><p>Marinette scowled, folding her arms angrily, “Oh yeah? That’s pretty rich coming from Hawkmoth’s sidekick. And don’t call me Princess!”</p><p> </p><p>“Hm.” Chat Noir didn’t appreciate the jab- it stung quite a bit, actually- but he wasn’t going to let her know that. More than anything, he was impressed that this girl had the nerve to smack talk to one of the city’s most dangerous criminals.</p><p> </p><p>He plastered on one of his trademark smirks, “Might wanna check your sources there. For all you know, Hawkmoth could be <em> my </em> sidekick.”</p><p> </p><p>“Which would make it even more rich!” Marinette exploded, prompting an amused smile from the cat.</p><p> </p><p><em> She’s amazing. </em> Chat Noir found himself falling even harder as he saw the hot-headed defiance in her eyes. Here she was, an unarmed civilian that was still trying to look out for her friends. He <em> hoped </em> it wasn’t because she had feelings for Nathaniel… but it didn’t really matter. </p><p> </p><p>“Why are you two bothering me, anyways? Aren’t you guys just after Ladybug’s Miraculous?” Marinette demanded, eyes narrowing slightly, “At least… when your friends aren’t just killing people for fun, that is.”</p><p> </p><p>Chat Noir bit back a retort- she did have a point, after all. <em> Especially </em> after what happened with Stormy Weather yesterday.</p><p> </p><p>“I’ve pretty much given up on the earrings tonight.” Chat Noir admitted without thinking, “Hawkmoth’s busy right now, and I’m supposed to be babysitting the artist.” He rolled his eyes, “He’s been… less than cooperative, in case you haven’t noticed.”</p><p> </p><p>It was probably a bad idea to let so much slip in front of Marinette- his father certainly wouldn’t approve, after all. While this piece of information alone was unlikely to amount to anything, admitting that he was effectively out on his own was a <em> terrible </em> idea, especially considering who Marinette’s best friend was.</p><p> </p><p>“Hawkmoth’s… busy?” Marinette blinked, and Chat Noir cringed.</p><p> </p><p>“I don’t want to see that on the Ladyblog tomorrow.” Chat Noir gave her a pointed look.</p><p> </p><p>“Or <em> what?” </em> Marinette challenged.</p><p> </p><p>“Or I’ll… scratch you.” Chat Noir said weakly, waving the sharp claws of his transformation in front of the girl’s face, even as she remained unfazed, “Or… I’ll steal pastries from the bakery… or something.” Chat Noir cringed, unable to sound even remotely intimidating.</p><p> </p><p>Marinette, for her part, was unable to stop her expression from softening a bit. She was being <em> extremely </em> smart with him- allegedly a dangerous supervillain- and yet he was still being the bigger person. In fact… Marinette got the feeling that his concern for her safety was actually genuine, as weird as that thought was.</p><p> </p><p><em> He was supposed to be a hero. </em> Marinette remembered the crestfallen look on Tikki’s face when Marinette first explained that Chat Noir was fighting on Hawkmoth’s side.</p><p> </p><p>“You know something, Chat Noir?” Marinette spoke suddenly, “You’re a <em> terrible </em> supervillain.”</p><p> </p><p>Chat Noir looked indignant, “I am <em> not!” </em> But his annoyance was quickly softened when Marinette was unable to hold back a giggle.</p><p> </p><p>“Yes you are!” She insisted, clearly amused by his reaction, “Chat… the only reason you’re still here is because you’re <em> worried </em>about me!” Chat Noir was unable to stop himself from blushing a bit, “I accidentally admitted that I want to take Evilustrator’s akuma, and you don’t even seem to mind!” Chat Noir opened his mouth to object, but Marinette wasn’t finished.</p><p> </p><p>“And even ignoring that- how many times have you ended up helping Ladybug by arguing with the villain?”</p><p> </p><p><em> Countless times! </em> A voice that sounded like his father spoke in his head, <em> If it wasn’t for you, we’d have won this several times over! </em></p><p> </p><p>But that cynical voice was drowned out when Chat Noir saw the genuine smile on Marinette’s face. It was… weird, having a civilian not freak out and run away at the sight of him. Weird in a good way, but still not normal.</p><p> </p><p>And for a long moment, that was the only thing on his mind. He stared into his classmate’s eyes, somewhat lost in the comfort her deep blue orbs provided.</p><p> </p><p>“Well…” Chat Noir finally spoke, “If I agree that I’m a bad villain, will you <em> please </em> let me keep an eye on your date tonight? I really am worried that he might try to hurt you if you make a move for his akuma.”</p><p> </p><p>Marinette rolled her eyes, “Ugh… fine. I promise I can take care of myself, but if you <em> really </em> want to-”</p><p> </p><p>“I’ll be there.” Chat Noir smiled softly, as he rose to leave, “I hope you know what you’re doing, Princess.”</p><p> </p><p>“I do.” Marinette began indignantly, “And don’t call me-”</p><p> </p><p>But it was too late. Just as suddenly as he had arrived, Chat Noir was gone.</p><p> </p><p>Marinette took a deep breath, trying to slow her rapidly beating heart. It was <em> definitely </em> beating fast because of how dangerous the situation was, and not because… well, there wouldn’t be any other reason, would there?</p><p> </p><p>“Well <em> that </em> was something.” Tikki had an indecipherable expression as she emerged from her hiding place. The kwami looked between her chosen and the hole in the wall expectantly, clearly waiting for Marinette to explain herself.</p><p> </p><p>“That was a mistake… wasn’t it?” Marinette realized, and Tikki simply sighed.</p><p> </p><p>Marinette paced back and forth anxiously, wondering how this was going to work out. There was a real chance that Evilustrator and Chat Noir were <em> both </em> nearby, meaning that transforming and sneaking out was pretty much out of the question.</p><p> </p><p>That… complicated things.</p><p> </p><p>“If I’m not transformed, we can’t purify the akuma!” Marinette realized, her eyes widening in panic, “I’ve messed up big time, haven’t I Tikki!?”</p><p> </p><p>“Hm.” Tikki put a thoughtful paw on her chin, “Well, not necessarily. If you’d refused to go on his date, there’s a real chance Evilustrator would’ve lost his temper. Yes, this is <em> extremely </em> dangerous, and I’d have preferred you not get anywhere near Evilustrator or Chat Noir as a civilian.” Tikki paused, “But there’s nothing you could’ve done about it.”</p><p> </p><p>Marinette hated to agree. She didn’t <em> think </em> Nathaniel would’ve done anything… but this wasn’t Nathaniel anymore, like Chat Noir had said.</p><p> </p><p>"You're... not mad at me?" Marinette was vaguely surprised that Tikki hadn't turned this into a lecture.</p><p> </p><p>“Oh, I’m not happy about any of this.” Tikki admitted, giving Marinette a stern look, “And you <em> have </em> to be careful moving forwards from here, to protect both your identity and your <em> life!” </em> Tikki let that sink in, “But like I said- there’s nothing you could’ve done, so there's no point in getting mad at <em>you."</em></p><p> </p><p>Marinette was surprised again by the kwami’s kindness. Had she misjudged Tikki? From the beginning, Marinette had associated the small creature with <em> rules </em> and <em> secrets, </em> but Tikki did seem to harbor some genuine affection underneath it all.</p><p> </p><p>“Maybe, but we’re still stuck!” Marinette clawed at her hair, pacing back and forth anxiously, “They’re probably watching me… Rena Rouge and Carapace are going to need me!”</p><p> </p><p>“Well, maybe not.” Tikki surprised Marinette by giving a somewhat sly smile, “You wouldn’t know, of course, but there’s actually a way we can purify the akuma without Ladybug…”</p><p> </p><p>“We can?” Marinette blinked, and Tikki’s smile grew even more.</p><p> </p><p>“Well, ‘we’ isn’t quite accurate.” Tikki said, fluttering around proudly <em> “I </em> will handle the akuma!”</p><p> </p><p>__________</p><p> </p><p>“There you are.” Rena Rouge breathed a sigh of relief when she spotted Carapace landing on Chloe’s balcony, “Thank god..”</p><p> </p><p>Chloe, as the daughter of Mayor Bourgeois, lived in <em> Le Grand Paris </em> hotel, one of the most prestigious locations in all of Paris. The presidential suite, which was large enough to fit Nino’s apartment at least three times, was just business as usual for Chloe.</p><p> </p><p>“What- did you miss me?” Carapace teased as he peered over Rena’s shoulder to make sure they were alone, “Have you gone in yet?”</p><p> </p><p>“Yes, unfortunately.” Rena growled, “But apparently queenie in there doesn’t want anything to do with us ‘sidekicks.’”</p><p> </p><p>Carapace sighed, as he spotted Chloe reclining on her couch, not a care in the world. Being called a sidekick was something the two of them were used to, even though Rena Rouge definitely still took issue with the term. Hearing it from <em> Chloe, </em> however, was something Alya <em> definitely </em> wasn’t going to tolerate.</p><p> </p><p>And the fact that Chloe regularly picked on Alya’s best friend certainly didn’t help the situation.</p><p> </p><p>“Surprised you didn’t throw her off the ledge.” Carapace laughed, and Rena Rouge smiled.</p><p> </p><p>“Well… I knew you’d be sad to miss it.” She teased.</p><p> </p><p>“Is Ladybug here?” The door to the balcony burst open when Chloe noticed Carapace’s presence. Her nose turned up in disgust when she realized that it was still the ‘sidekicks,’</p><p> </p><p>“No, but I’m sure she’ll be here soon.” Carapace said confidently, “In the meantime, Rena and I are <em> more </em> than enough to take care of things.”</p><p> </p><p>Chloe seemed amused by the suggestion, “Oh, really? So if that artist wannabe and his pet cat show up, <em> you’ll </em> be the one to snag the butterfly and repair the damage?” Carapace’s face fell, “Didn’t think so. Let me know when the <em> real </em> hero shows up.”</p><p> </p><p>Rena Rouge’s temper flared at that- <em> nobody </em>spoke to Nino that way! And while Alya Cesaire might’ve been forced to politely back down- lest she or her parents face retribution from the mayor’s daughter- Rena Rouge enjoyed a degree of anonymity.</p><p> </p><p>“Hold on a moment.” Rena Rouge clasped a hand on the blonde girl’s shoulder, with a lot more force than strictly necessary, “I think you owe Carapace an <em> apology.” </em></p><p> </p><p><em> “Excuse </em> me?” Chloe’s eyes narrowed.</p><p> </p><p>“Uh… it’s not a big deal, Rena.” Carapace said awkwardly, but the fox was unmoved.</p><p> </p><p>“You heard me.” She said flatly, gesturing towards Carapace without taking her eyes off of her captive, “Carapace was the one to save your rich ass back in the library, if I’m not mistaken. If it wasn’t for him, you’d have been crushed.” Rena Rouge let that sink in, even as Chloe continued to scowl, “So… I think you should apologize for speaking to him like that.”</p><p> </p><p>Carapace could practically <em> taste </em> the tension in the air as the blonde girl regarded Rena Rouge cooly. If it were <em> anybody </em> else, Chloe would almost certainly be calling her father and having the heroine arrested for daring to lay a hand on her. But in this situation, Chloe seemed to settle for glaring daggers at the both of them.</p><p> </p><p>Finally, much to Nino’s surprise, Chloe seemed to relent.</p><p> </p><p><em> “Fine.” </em> Chloe growled, fixing Carapace with a derisive look, “I… I’m glad you saved me today.” Rena Rouge waited, and Chloe gave a deflated sigh, “And… I’m sorry I said you weren’t a real hero.”</p><p> </p><p>“Uh… no problem, dudette.” Carapace stared in bafflement as Rena Rouge released her hostage.</p><p> </p><p>Chloe took the opportunity to practically <em> sprint </em>back inside, slamming the balcony door as she left the heroes on their own.</p><p> </p><p>“Huh.” Carapace mused, “That went… significantly better than I would’ve expected. Maybe you should strongarm civilians more often.”</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah, it was a bit much.” Rena admitted shyly, “Sorry… I just didn’t like hearing her talk to you like that.”</p><p> </p><p>“Well, she was going after you too, you know?” Carapace laughed, patting her on the back, “But seriously? That was <em> badass, </em> and I can’t believe you actually got her to back down.” He lowered his voice nervously, “Marinette and I have been trying that for <em> years, </em> and you pull up and make it work in two months flat.”</p><p> </p><p>“I mean… I’m sure the furry suit helped.” Rena Rouge snorted dismissively.</p><p> </p><p>Carapace opened his mouth to speak, ready to explain that he’d have obeyed her in that situation no matter <em> what </em> she was wearing, but a beeping on Rena’s flute was enough to catch both of their attention.</p><p> </p><p>“Ladybug?” Rena Rouge answered, and Carapace blinked in surprise.</p><p> </p><p>“Hey guys.” Ladybug wasn’t using the facetime feature, so the screen remained dark, “Sorry I’ve kept you waiting- are you at Chloe’s?”</p><p> </p><p>“Just like you said.” Rena Rouge nodded, “Did you get held up?”</p><p> </p><p>“Uhhhh, yeah.” Ladybug sounded a bit nervous, “And it looks like it’ll be a bit longer until I’m free to rejoin you.”</p><p> </p><p>Carapace and Rena shared a surprised look. This wasn’t like Ladybug at <em> all. </em></p><p> </p><p>“Is… everything okay?” Rena Rouge asked, and Ladybug was silent for a moment, causing both of the heroes to worry even more.</p><p> </p><p>“Well, <em> I’m </em> okay.” Ladybug said quietly, “But I’m going to need you guys to handle things on your own for a little while. I know you can do it-”</p><p> </p><p>“Wait.” Carapace interrupted, alarm creeping into his voice, “Ladybug, we can’t purify an akuma or repair the damage without you!”</p><p> </p><p>Chloe had reminded them of that, not even five minutes ago. And as much as it pained him to admit it, the blonde girl was actually right for once- there was a <em> lot </em> Carapace and Rena Rouge couldn’t do without their leader. Damage to the city was bad enough when it was fixed... he couldn't even begin to imagine how bad things would get if Ladybug wasn't there to restore everything.</p><p> </p><p>Paris would've been destroyed several times over by now.</p><p> </p><p>“Actually, that’s not quite true.” Ladybug said, causing them both to frown in confusion. Ladybug had been pretty adamant from the beginning that she was the only one who could purify the akuma. What was she talking about?</p><p> </p><p>“Explain.” Rena Rouge said, somewhat anxiously.</p><p> </p><p>“I may be tied up in my civilian life…” Ladybug explained, sounding somewhat nervous, “...but my kwami <em> isn’t. </em> Now, kwamis usually shouldn’t be using their powers when they’re outside of the Miraculous, but Tikki assures me she can purify the akuma on her own.”</p><p> </p><p>Both of the heroes arched their eyebrows. Trixx and Wayzz had been good company so far, and it was their power that allowed Alya and Nino to transform, but they had no idea they <em>could</em> use their powers without a Miraculous, much more that they <em>shouldn't.</em> Carapace was unsurprised to see a look of vague irritation on Rena Rouge's face, but now wasn't the time to start another argument over secrets.</p><p> </p><p>“Huh.” Carapace blinked, “Go figure…”</p><p> </p><p>“I’ll be sending her your way as soon as I change back.” Ladybug said quietly, “Like I said, I’m <em> really </em> sorry I can’t join you, but-”</p><p> </p><p>“Hold on a sec.” Rena Rouge interrupted, eyes narrowing, “We’re supposed to take on Evilustrator and Chat Noir… <em> alone?” </em> She shook her head, “As much as I believe in Carapace, we’re going to be outmatched, Ladybug. Unless your kwami can fight-”</p><p> </p><p>“That won’t be necessary.” Ladybug interrupted, and Rena Rouge could’ve sworn that the girl was <em> smiling </em> on the other end, “You’ll have another advantage… once Evilustrator left the school, he went to another one of his classmates. I was lucky enough to stumble upon the scene.”</p><p> </p><p>“Another one of his classmates?” Carapace echoed, scrunching his eyebrows in confusion, “Who would he-” His and Rena’s eyes both widened as they remembered the exact reason for Nathaniel’s akumatization. <em> Marinette! </em></p><p> </p><p>“I’m sending you a picture of her now.” Ladybug said, and both of their communicators beeped- a picture of their dear friend materializing on their screens, “Cute, isn’t she? Evilustrator apparently wants to take her on a date.”</p><p> </p><p>Carapace wanted to smash something- he was protecting <em> Chloe, </em> while this creepy supervillain snuck up on one of his oldest friends! He should’ve seen this coming… they had even been reminded of Nathaniel’s crush back in the library!</p><p> </p><p>“She’s okay, right?” Rena Rouge interrupted, distress evident in her voice, and Carapace reflexively put a reassuring hand on her wrist. They both flushed at the contact, but there was no time to discuss it as Ladybug continued.</p><p> </p><p>“I promise she’s fine.” Ladybug said softly, “But she’s going to need your help protecting her, okay?”</p><p> </p><p>“Hold up.” Carapace frowned, “You said that Evilustrator wanted to take her on a date.” His eyes widened, “Don’t tell me she-”</p><p> </p><p>“She accepted.” Ladybug explained, to the outrage of her teammates, “Now, calm down! I didn’t like it either, but-”</p><p> </p><p>“Nuh-uh.” Rena Rouge growled, “No <em> buts. </em> We are <em> not </em> getting another innocent civilian involved in this!” She shook her head, “What are you planning, exactly? If the fight gets rough, Marinette can and will get hurt!”</p><p> </p><p>Ladybug was silent on the other end, and Carapace wondered how she was going to respond to that. Unfortunately it sounded like both Ladybug and Marinette had already made up their minds… and if there was one thing they <em> definitely </em> had in common, it was stubbornness. As much as he hated the idea of Marinette getting anywhere near a supervillain, the chances were slim that they could convince her to change her mind.</p><p> </p><p>“I’m sorry.” Ladybug said quietly, “But there’s nothing I can do about it now. Evilustrator is expecting her by the river at ten o’clock, and he’ll almost certainly go after her if she doesn’t show up.”</p><p> </p><p>“I could make an illusion-” Rena Rouge started, but Ladybug cut her off.</p><p> </p><p>“It wouldn’t hold up to scrutiny.” Ladybug’s voice was sad... but oddly touched? “Look… if you’re really concerned about all of this-”</p><p> </p><p>“Hell yeah I am!”</p><p> </p><p>“-I could… give her a way to protect herself?” Ladybug sounded like she was asking herself the question as much as them.</p><p> </p><p><em> What the hell was she talking about? </em> Supervillains, just like the superheroes, were basically impervious to most non magical weapons. Even if Ladybug had somehow gotten her hands on a deadly weapon to give Marinette, it would be basically useless against the Evilustrator anyway. Unless Ladybug was planning on-</p><p> </p><p>Carapace blinked, finally realizing her meaning.</p><p> </p><p>“You’re talking about your other Miraculous… aren’t you?” Carapace asked, and Rena Rouge’s eyes widened.</p><p> </p><p>“Um… yeah, I am.” Ladybug said quietly, “My kwami might not approve, but I could <em> probably </em> loan one out to this Marinette girl. She’d only use it in an emergency, and I’ll take it back after this mission, but I could make it happen.”</p><p> </p><p>Rena Rouge and Carapace shared a look, having a silent debate on whether or not this was acceptable. Carapace gave a half-nod, prompting Alya’s eyebrow to arch. Her fox tail twitched anxiously, but she offered no rebuttal.</p><p> </p><p>“Okay.” Carapace said, “I think that could work.”</p><p> </p><p>“Good.” Ladybug sounded relieved, “Okay, now for the rest of the plan…”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I hope to have the final part of Evilustrator up in the next few days- thanks for reading!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Evilustrator (iii)</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Marinette goes on a date with a supervillain, while her teammates and rival all fumble about in the dark.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Sorry this took longer than I expected to complete- I kept rewriting large chunks of it, and I'm still not satisfied with the final results lol.</p><p>But still, hope you enjoy!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>“I can’t believe I’m doing this…” Marinette sighed, straightening her outfit as she approached the docks. She had donned a soft blue blouse- the same comfortable shade as her eyes- and a knee length black skirt that she had personally customized to have sturdy pockets. She was fairly proud of her outfit, actually, having spent the better part of thirty minutes getting ready.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Not that there was any ‘right’ way to dress for a supervillain.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>True to his word, Marinette spotted Chat Noir perched atop the Notre-Dame Cathedral, powerful green eyes watching her every move as she prepared to greet the villainized version of her shy classmate. Marinette smiled slightly at the sight of Ladybug’s rival- genuinely comforted despite his questionable allegiance. Given how he’d acted earlier, Marinette had a feeling that Evilustrator would be in for a </span>
  <em>
    <span>world</span>
  </em>
  <span> of hurt if he tried to harm her.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>And not just from Chat Noir- Rena Rouge and Carapace were probably hidden a bit closer to the docks, if she had to guess. They should be close enough to intervene if necessary, but hopefully still far enough out of sight that they wouldn’t be discovered. Tikki had long since departed, moving to join Rena Rouge and Carapace a little over an hour ago. She absently wondered what they had been talking about in the meantime.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>They were probably bad-mouthing both versions of you.</span>
  </em>
  <span> A voice in her head said. She promptly told it to shut up as she continued onwards.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Marinette took a deep breath, straightening the Bee comb she had nestled into her hair before leaving. She had initially opposed wearing it openly, but quickly realized that this was the only way she’d be able to activate it in time if the situation got messy. The Bee kwami- </span>
  <em>
    <span>Pollen-</span>
  </em>
  <span> had been extremely excited to join in the mission, and was now hidden inside Marinette’s pocket, ready to go at a moment’s notice.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Outstanding, my Queen!”</span>
  </em>
  <span> Pollen had even praised Marinette’s outfit before they left, </span>
  <em>
    <span>“Your date will certainly be charmed!”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Marinette wasn’t sure if the kwami really grasped the point of their mission, but she enjoyed the compliment nonetheless.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Evilustrator was already there, standing in front of a small riverboat with unlit candles lining the deck, frantically scribbling on his tablet to create more and more flower petals on the deck. Marinette absently wondered if the boat was another one of his creations, or if he had stolen it from somebody else.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The sun was finished setting, and the city’s streets had mostly quieted, putting her at even greater unease. Marinette swallowed, taking a deep breath as she plastered a warm smile on her face.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Nathaniel!” Marinette waved, trying her best to make the smile convincing.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Marinette!” Evilustrator immediately beamed at the sound of her voice, but there was something significantly less welcoming behind his eyes, “And the name’s </span>
  <em>
    <span>Evilustrator</span>
  </em>
  <span> now, by the way. Nathaniel never would’ve been brave enough to take care of you like I can.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Ah… right.” Marinette shifted uncomfortably, “I’m sorry… I didn’t mean to upset you… Evilustrator.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Just be more careful next time.” Evilustrator said softly, pleased to hear his preferred name, “Now- if you’re ready, I made all of this for you.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He scribbled something else on his tablet, causing all of the candles to light at once in a dramatic display. Marinette gasped slightly, as the boat’s deck was transformed into a genuinely romantic scene. Her eyes widened, as the sudden illumination made her catch sight of a green superhero on the far side of the boat, but Evilustrator was too busy staring at his tablet and his date to notice.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Is everything okay?” Evilustrator noticed her distress, and Carapace had fortunately moved by the time he glanced at the deck, “Do you not like it?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No!” Marinette exclaimed, “I mean- </span>
  <em>
    <span>yes!</span>
  </em>
  <span> This is… this is beautiful!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>And it really was. The rose petals began to lift up in the wind slightly, fluttering around as a gentle romantic piece was played from a set of speakers that Marinette hadn’t noticed before. The romantic in Marinette was truly charmed by the sight- even as the logical part of her mind was distrubed that it was created by a literal supervillain.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’m glad you like it.” Evilustrator said softly, “But just know- it </span>
  <em>
    <span>pales</span>
  </em>
  <span> in comparison to the view from where I’m standing.” Marinette blushed, as her akumatized classmate knelt to kiss her knuckles, “Now… shall we?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>__________</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Rena Rouge’s heart almost stopped when the candles came on. She was safely hidden with Tikki on the next boat over, but Carapace had </span>
  <em>
    <span>insisted</span>
  </em>
  <span> on sneaking aboard the Evilustrator’s ship. Marinette had clearly noticed him- what with her eyes widening comically- but the Evilustrator was too wrapped up in his date to notice.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Nino you </span>
  <em>
    <span>idiot.”</span>
  </em>
  <span> She muttered to herself, growling as Evilustrator helped Marinette onto the boat.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I don’t think he saw him.” Tikki whispered, and Rena nodded in agreement.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She honestly didn’t know what to make of Tikki. So far, the kwami had radiated nothing but positivity, to the point that Rena Rouge almost found herself </span>
  <em>
    <span>disgusted.</span>
  </em>
  <span> They had only spent an hour or two together, but Alya had quickly realized that she preferred the cheeky witticisms of her own kwami.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’m glad you like it.” Evilustrator said softly, “But just know- it </span>
  <em>
    <span>pales</span>
  </em>
  <span> in comparison to the view from where I’m standing.” Marinette blushed, as her akumatized classmate knelt to kiss her knuckles, “Now… shall we?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Part of Rena Rouge wanted to march over and punch that guy the </span>
  <em>
    <span>moment</span>
  </em>
  <span> she saw him near Marinette- </span>
  <em>
    <span>especially</span>
  </em>
  <span> because of how uncomfortable her best friend looked, but she had to admit that Ladybug’s plan was fairly ironclad- if a bit dangerous.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Marinette was going to continue on with the date like normal, until she secured the item with the akuma inside of it. She would break it- releasing the akuma and freeing Nathaniel, while Tikki moved to purify it. Carapace and Rena Rouge were there as backup in case something went wrong, or to fight off Chat Noir if he made an appearance.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She still hadn’t seen the feline… he had no real reason to be here, right?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Are you settled in?” Evilustrator’s voice was faint, but Rena’s transformation granted her enhanced hearing. Marinette said something to affirm, and the villain beamed, “Okay. Let’s go!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The boat began to move, propelled by some invisible or magical force as it lacked any sails, motors, or even oars. Rena Rouge looked around nervously, realizing that it would be hard to keep up while maintaining her cover.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Rena wondered which Miraculous Marinette had right now… and a cynical part of her brain wondered if Ladybug was simply lying to comfort her teammates. After all, if everything went according to plan, Marinette wouldn’t have to use it at all, and Alya wouldn’t have any way of verifying Ladybug’s honesty.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Marinette sounds like she’s getting pretty comfortable.”</span>
  </em>
  <span> Carapace spoke through the communicator, his voice hushed as he whispered, </span>
  <em>
    <span>“Can’t know for sure… but I think that she’s going to try and take his pen soon.”</span>
  </em>
  <span> He paused, something occurring to him as he spoke, </span>
  <em>
    <span>“You know, we really should’ve thought up some kind of code word or-”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Too late for anything like that.” Rena Rouge interrupted, rising from her position to try and follow the boat, “Let me know if you need any help- use your shield to keep Marinette safe if there’s any trouble.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Don’t worry.”</span>
  </em>
  <span> Carapace soothed, sensing the concern in her voice, </span>
  <em>
    <span>“I won’t let anything happen to her.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You better not.” Rena Rouge growled, but her heart wasn’t into the threat. More than anything, she was just afraid of Marinette getting hurt.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Seriously though, what was that girl </span>
  <em>
    <span>thinking?</span>
  </em>
  <span> Marinette had always been an interesting case- from the first day they’d met, the raven-haired girl had presented herself as the classic shy classmate, eager to make friends with Alya, but a bit lacking in self-confidence. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Alya certainly hadn’t minded- she’d even felt sympathetic for her new friend- but she was pleasantly surprised when Marinette revealed herself to be (almost) as fiery as Alya herself under the surface. Marinette stood up to Chloe almost effortlessly, quickly corrected a mistake she made regarding Adrien on the first day, and Alya was willing to bet that at least </span>
  <em>
    <span>half</span>
  </em>
  <span> of the boys in the class had at least a slight crush on her (probably some of the girls too).</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Alya just hadn’t imagined it would turn into </span>
  <em>
    <span>this.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“He’s right, you know.” Tikki whispered, as if sensing Alya’s thoughts, “Marinette’s your best friend, right? You’ve gotta trust her.” Rena Rouge stared for a moment, before realizing that </span>
  <em>
    <span>of course</span>
  </em>
  <span> Tikki knew her identity. Ladybug had been the one to select her, after all.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I do trust her.” Rena Rouge snapped, “But I sure as hell don’t trust that supervillain that asked her out.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“As you shouldn’t.” Tikki said softly, “But I promise you this: Ladybug wouldn’t have been willing to go through with a plan like this if she didn’t think it would work.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, but there’s still a </span>
  <em>
    <span>risk.”</span>
  </em>
  <span> Rena Rouge argued, breaking into a sprint as she ran alongside the river- desperate to keep up with Evilustrator’s boat, “Marinette could still get hurt no matter </span>
  <em>
    <span>how</span>
  </em>
  <span> good Ladybug’s plan is, and we should </span>
  <em>
    <span>not</span>
  </em>
  <span> be putting her life at risk just so we can have an easier fight.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Tikki pursed her lips, landing on Rena’s shoulder so she wouldn’t have to fly at the same pace, “Ladybug knows what she’s doing.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I never said she doesn’t.” Rena Rouge said flatly, crouching behind a bench overlooking the river as she observed the boat. Evilustrator and Marinette were sitting on some sort of bench that he’d created on the middle of the deck, while the Evilustrator seemed to be showing off the extent of his powers.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>And even though Rena still wanted to hurt him for getting near her best friend, she had to admit that the Evilustrator’s tablet was pretty cool. He was currently in the process of sketching what looked to be a small collection of floating music notes, each playing a soft chord of their own that gradually confined into a symphony that she would have appreciated even without her magical fox ears to pick out the finer details.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Rena Rouge focused, the fox ears twitching as she tried to make out exactly what was being said on the boat, but apparently even her hearing had its limitations.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Look.”</span>
  </em>
  <span> Tikki whispered, gesturing down the street to where a small bridge arched over the river.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She nodded, immediately understanding the kwami’s meaning. Hopefully, if all went well, Marinette would know to make her move while the boat was passing underneath, granting Rena Rouge the opportunity to pounce alongside her teammates.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She rose to her full height, and prepared to break into a sprint-</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“A bit late for a stroll, don’t you think?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Rena Rouge </span>
  <em>
    <span>jumped,</span>
  </em>
  <span> very nearly dropping her flute as she whirled around.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hey.” Chat Noir grinned, offering her a cheeky two-fingered salute. Her eyes widened in panic, as the feline villain gestured towards the scene on the river, “You know… I’m sure if you and Carapace moved quickly, there’s enough room on that boat to make it a double date.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Ah.” Rena Rouge swallowed, managing to maintain her composure despite the situation’s </span>
  <em>
    <span>complete</span>
  </em>
  <span> shift, “Must’ve forgotten the formal fox suit…”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well I doubt there’s a dress code.” Chat Noir laughed, pleased that </span>
  <em>
    <span>somebody</span>
  </em>
  <span> would participate in his banter.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>This was bad. Rena Rouge shifted nervously as she clutched the flute like a club. Chat Noir had proven more than once that he was a pretty dangerous fighter when he put his mind to it, and his Miraculous was apparently </span>
  <em>
    <span>significantly</span>
  </em>
  <span> stronger than her own. Trixx had explained very quickly that trying to fight the black cat directly wouldn’t end well.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Nor do most other direct attacks.” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Trixx had said, a cautionary note to his voice, </span>
  <em>
    <span>“Foxes like us… we keep to the shadows. Illusions, trickery, subversion- that’s where your strength comes from.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>But right now, Chat Noir was the one in control of basically all of those elements.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Stay out of the way!” Both Miraculous wielders jumped when </span>
  <em>
    <span>Tikki</span>
  </em>
  <span> spoke up. She flew right in Chat Noir’s face, flickering angrily, “I know why you’re here- you might </span>
  <em>
    <span>think</span>
  </em>
  <span> you’re helping, but I promise that your presence is only going to make things worse!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Chat Noir’s face quickly shifted from surprise to something hard to decipher with a black mask concealing his face- but Rena Rouge could’ve sworn it was </span>
  <em>
    <span>hurt.</span>
  </em>
  <span> Before she could properly analyze it, however, Chat Noir’s expression quickly snapped into a scowl.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Let me guess- Ladybug’s kwami?” Chat Noir growled, and Tikki gave him a defiant glare, “In case you didn’t notice, there’s a civilian in the line of fire right now.” He pointed a pointed finger straight for the still-moving boat, “You might be too proud to care, but I’m here to help keep her </span>
  <em>
    <span>safe!”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Rena Rouge’s eyes widened in surprise at the proclamation. </span>
  <em>
    <span>That’s a lie, right? </span>
  </em>
  <span>If anything, Chat Noir was probably here to make sure that nothing happened to Evilustrator, not Marinette. Maybe he was trying to trick her into letting her guard down?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Tikki, however, didn’t seem even slightly fazed, “And let me guess: you think that this somehow makes up for everything you’ve done?” Chat flinched slightly, but Tikki wasn’t finished, “You think that shielding one civilian while your master kills </span>
  <em>
    <span>thousands</span>
  </em>
  <span> makes you some kind of hero?” Tikki bristled, “Well, let me tell you something, </span>
  <em>
    <span>Chat Noir-</span>
  </em>
  <span> it’s going to take a </span>
  <em>
    <span>lot</span>
  </em>
  <span> more than a few random acts of kindness to make you worthy of that ring!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Chat Noir set his jaw, and Rena Rouge could’ve sworn that she saw something watery glistening in his eyes at Tikki’s words.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She herself could only stare between the kwami and the supervillain- like… </span>
  <em>
    <span>what?</span>
  </em>
  <span> There was a lot to unpack in Tikki’s rant, but the detail that stood out most to Rena was the way that Tikki didn’t even try to dispute Chat Noir’s claim. Was he </span>
  <em>
    <span>actually</span>
  </em>
  <span> here because he wanted to keep Marinette safe?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She supposed it wasn’t </span>
  <em>
    <span>completely</span>
  </em>
  <span> out of character. In the heat of the moment, Ladybug and her team had seen Chat Noir move to protect civilians on a myriad of occasions- the Mime standing out as the most recent example, where he chose to abandon his pursuit of Carapace’s Miraculous. But still, this seemed to be a step too far… there was no way Hawkmoth approved of this, right?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Her train of thought was interrupted when Chat Noir finally responded.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You know something?” Chat Noir cut in, glowering at the red kwami, “The spots aren’t the only thing Ladybug gets from you- we can add a pretentious sense self-righteousness right up there with-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Okay, okay!” Rena Rouge raised her hands for calm, still trying to wrap her mind around everything that was happening. She looked at Chat Noir warily, “So… not some kind of trick? You’re… actually here to keep Marinette safe?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Chat Noir hesitated for a second, startled by the interruption, but quickly nodded.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Okay then…” Rena Rouge shot Tikki an anxious look, but the kwami remained silent- her silence serving as an affirmation of its own, “Well, I’m gonna go ahead and do that then, okay? You can keep an eye out, and step in if things get crazy, but-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Chat Noir’s eyes widened, and Tikki gasped. Rena Rouge whirled around, her own eyes widening in horror as she realized that she had wasted </span>
  <em>
    <span>more</span>
  </em>
  <span> than enough time.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The boat… carrying Alya’s two best friends in the whole world, was </span>
  <em>
    <span>sinking.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>__________</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Marinette cringed as she glimpsed Rena Rouge running- the tally was up to at least four times that she had gotten a peek at her ‘hidden’ defenders, as well as </span>
  <em>
    <span>plenty </span>
  </em>
  <span>of instances where she at least suspected they were the ones responsible for a sound she was picking up. Seriously, could Carapace </span>
  <em>
    <span>be</span>
  </em>
  <span> less light on his feet? Marinette heard him moving around under the deck at least a half dozen times-</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Something on your mind?” Evilustrator asked, frowning at the distracted look on Marinette’s face.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh… uh, no. I’m good.” Marinette smiled weakly, cringing again as she heard the sound of something tipping over below deck, “Just… it’s getting a bit chilly, isn’t it?” It wasn’t really, but Marinette had to say </span>
  <em>
    <span>something,</span>
  </em>
  <span> right?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Let me take care of that!” Evilustrator’s eyes lit up with excitement, and he frantically sketched up a pretty obvious replica of a </span>
  <em>
    <span>Gabriel</span>
  </em>
  <span> sports jacket that he eagerly draped over Marinette’s shoulders, “There you go- all better!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“R-Right.” Marinette laughed nervously, eyes widening slightly as she spotted the top of Carapace’s eyes peeking over from the side of the ship, “I was thinking though- we should </span>
  <em>
    <span>wait</span>
  </em>
  <span> before we try </span>
  <em>
    <span>anything</span>
  </em>
  <span> dangerous, right?” She narrowed her eyes at the turtle hero, “After all… don’t want to make too much of a disturbance, right?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Carapace looked between the two of them, clearly deciding whether or not he should intervene. Marinette grit her teeth slightly- she wasn’t Ladybug right now, sure, but she knew what she was doing! There was no reason for him to try anything until Marinette got her hands on the akuma.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I… guess?” Evilustrator frowned, utterly baffled by her words, “I assure you, Marinette, I wasn’t about to place your life in any kind of danger.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well, that’s good.” Marinette smiled, trying to make it look as genuine as possible, “So- how does your power work? It looks </span>
  <em>
    <span>really</span>
  </em>
  <span> cool!” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Anybody that even </span>
  <em>
    <span>slightly</span>
  </em>
  <span> knew her would’ve begun asking questions after a performance that flimsy, but apparently the Evilustrator was too enamoured to even suspect anything.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh, they’re </span>
  <em>
    <span>awesome!”</span>
  </em>
  <span> Evilustrator grinned excitedly, scooting slightly closer so he could show her the currently blank tablet screen, “Look, I use this pen to draw different objects…” He frantically sketched another jacket, “And… </span>
  <em>
    <span>there!”</span>
  </em>
  <span> It matched the one he had just made for Marinette, and he grinned cheekily as he slid it onto his own shoulders, “Now we match!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Y-Yeah.” Marinette laughed with him for a moment, heart beating pretty frantically as she prepared to make her move, “Um… does it only work for you? Or would somebody else be able to draw on it?” Evilustrator’s eyes immediately narrowed, causing her to panic slightly, “Not that I’m asking to use it or anything! I was just-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It’s okay.” Evilustrator soothed, his gaze softening as he judged the rambling girl in front of him to be a non threat, “Sorry… I’m just very protective of this.” He clutched the pen affectionately, “See, this is where my akuma is. Without it, I wouldn’t be able to do </span>
  <em>
    <span>any</span>
  </em>
  <span> of this. I’d go back to being weak little </span>
  <em>
    <span>Nathaniel.”</span>
  </em>
  <span> He sounded bitter as he spoke his true name, causing Marinette to flinch.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Right…” She said awkwardly, making a silent promise to check in with this boy after the battle was over.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Hopefully, this was all the akuma talking, but one could never be sure…</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“But in any case, I bet we can find a way for you to create things.” Evilustrator smiled thoughtfully, and quickly scratched out another creation- a stylus, perfectly identical to his pen, “Here! You can use this, and it’ll let you draw whatever you want.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Marinette’s eyes widened as she accepted the gift, and Evilustrator clutched her true target close to his chest. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Shit.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Just like that, the plan had almost completely collapsed. Marinette stared awkwardly at the stylus she’d been offered, while Evilustrator offered her a genuinely pleased smile. </span>
  <em>
    <span>How was she supposed to take the akuma now?</span>
  </em>
  <span> There was no other conceivable reason for Marinette to get anywhere near the pen.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Unless she got a little bit more </span>
  <em>
    <span>aggressive.</span>
  </em>
  <span> Like, aggressive to the point that Tikki would probably be yelling at her all night, and Marinette couldn’t really blame her. Pollen shifted inside Marinette’s pocket, as though sensing the girl’s thoughts and urging her to back down, but Marinette decided to ignore it.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Everybody was counting on her to get that pen- she couldn’t let them down.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Go ahead.” Evilustrator beckoned, extending his arm so that the tablet was right in front of her, “You’re a designer, right? I’m sure you’ll put me to shame in no time!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“R-Right.” Marinette trembled a bit, as she ironed out the details of her ‘plan,’ “Um, can you make me a… mannequin, maybe? It’d be a nice base to add some of my designs…”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Evilustrator beamed, too excited at the prospect of being helpful to consider why Marinette couldn’t just do it herself, “Of course! I’d love to see some of- </span>
  <em>
    <span>hey!”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Marinette snatched at the pen the moment it was within her reach, but she wasn’t quick enough. Her eyes widened in panic as Evilustrator’s fist closed around the object- a very real </span>
  <em>
    <span>hurt</span>
  </em>
  <span> crossing over his face as he realized what Marinette was trying to do. It only lasted a second, however, as it was quickly replaced by an unfiltered </span>
  <em>
    <span>rage.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I… I can explain-” Marinette started, quickly withdrawing her hand- only to be interrupted when the Evilustrator rose to his feet.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You… you were trying to </span>
  <em>
    <span>take</span>
  </em>
  <span> this!” Evilustrator bellowed, physically shaking with hatred as he lashed out and grabbed onto her wrist, squeezing more and more, “I can’t believe you!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Stop!” Marinette tried to pull herself free, but her classmate’s strength was greatly enhanced by the akumatization. She could feel something coming loose of her wrist, causing her panic to rise even further, “Please! You’re hurting me-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well it serves you </span>
  <em>
    <span>right!”</span>
  </em>
  <span> Evilustrator snarled, shoving her onto the deck. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Hard.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The moment Marinette hit the deck, Evilustrator’s face shifted- cold hatred was replaced by total </span>
  <em>
    <span>horror,</span>
  </em>
  <span> as though he couldn’t believe what he’d done. He looked between Marinette and his own hands, eyes wide in a show of panic-</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hey!” Carapace slammed onto the deck, desperate to steal the villain’s attention away as he threw his shield.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“You!”</span>
  </em>
  <span> Evilustrator’s rage returned as the shield smashed straight into his face, causing him to stumble backwards into the water with a harsh </span>
  <em>
    <span>splash.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Come on, Marinette!” Carapace rushed forwards, pulling her back onto her feet as he look around worriedly, “I think we need a new plan-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Look out!”</span>
  </em>
  <span> Marinette cried out. Evilustrator flew straight out of the water on a jetpack of sorts, glowering at them as he continued to scribble on his tablet. Carapace snapped Marinette close to his chest, raising his shield above them as he called activated </span>
  <em>
    <span>shell-ter</span>
  </em>
  <span> for the second time today.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>And it was necessary. The Evilustrator’s scribblings created a variety of dangerous looking objects- from an anvil to a giant sack of oversized marbles- all of which came crashing down on Carapace’s force field as the villain screamed bloody murder. Marinette couldn’t stop herself from trembling as object after object crashed down onto the shield, slight cracks appearing as a way of producing even greater panic.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Come on… come on…” Carapace grunted, focusing everything he had into keeping the barrier together. He snuck Marinette a glance, “Now… now might be a good time to use that Miraculous-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Your </span>
  <em>
    <span>what!?”</span>
  </em>
  <span> Evilustrator demanded, and Carapace cringed.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Couldn't agree more, my queen!" Pollen called out anxiously from inside Marinette's pocket.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“R-Right!” Marinette cursed herself for forgetting, “Pollen, Buzz On!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The bee kwami flew straight out of Marinette’s pocket, twirling through the air and landing inside of the silver bee comb in one fluid motion. Marinette gasped, caught off guard as a power distinctly less… </span>
  <em>
    <span>pleasant</span>
  </em>
  <span> than Tikki’s creation swept across her body. A striped yellow and black costume appeared, as light as the spandex she donned as Ladybug- albeit with stripes instead of spots, and a variety of other features she didn’t have time to experiment with.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>For at that moment, a </span>
  <em>
    <span>semi-truck</span>
  </em>
  <span> landed on the end of the boat.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Ha!” Evilustrator grinned triumphantly as the boat capsized, causing Carapace’s force field to immediately flicker out as he lost focus.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Marinette gasped as she hit the water- a magical bee suit apparently not enough to protect against the murky waters of the River Seine. Both she and Carapace sunk underwater… but only for a moment, as a massive net materialized on all sides, scooping them both up in one swipe.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I have you now!” Evilustrator laughed maniacally as they both surfaced, gasping for breath as they fumbled against each other inside the netting. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Marinette reached around frantically, desperate to find some way to break free, but to no avail. The net continued to swing them around helplessly, attached to some kind of crane the supervillain must’ve created while the ship was capsizing.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She grew more and more frustrated as she struggled- she had </span>
  <em>
    <span>just</span>
  </em>
  <span> transformed! And with Carapace helping, there was no reason that this net should be able to hold them in. But as much as they both struggled, neither hero could get good leverage with the net continually swinging, and it wasn’t like they had anything sharp to cut it with anyway.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Great.</span>
  </em>
  <span> Marinette cursed herself. There was no way out, was there? They needed help, and they needed it </span>
  <em>
    <span>fast.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Marinette…” She looked over and was startled to see deep </span>
  <em>
    <span>remorse</span>
  </em>
  <span> in Carapace’s eyes, “I’m… I’m sorry. I didn’t think-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It’s not your fault.” Marinette interrupted, blinking as she realized that her body was literally </span>
  <em>
    <span>buzzing</span>
  </em>
  <span> in agitation, “I should’ve-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No, you shouldn’t have.” Carapace said, his voice pained as his bracelet started beeping, “I’m supposed to be the hero here- we were wrong to get you involved like this.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>And whose idea was that?</span>
  </em>
  <span> Marinette bit back a dig at her own alter ego. Unfortunately, Carapace had a point- this was Ladybug’s fight, and Marinette had no business getting involved, did she? It seemed like a good idea at the time; Evilustrator’s crush on her seemed to be his biggest weakness, and it wasn’t like she had a safe way of transforming anyway.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You’re going to pay for double-crossing me like that!” Evilustrator sneered, and Marinette jumped as she realized that he had just finished sketching something else.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Carapace’s eyes widened, “Is that-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It was. Evilustrator grinned, floating backwards a bit to reveal a giant bucket of </span>
  <em>
    <span>lava</span>
  </em>
  <span> that he’d just finished sketching. It rested at the bank of the Seine, maybe a hundred yards from where Carapace and Marinette were currently suspended, but well within the range where his crane could turn to drop them in.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Marinette felt like she’d been punched in the stomach</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Nathaniel!” Marientte pleaded, “Please! I know you’re not like this!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Correction.” The villain grit his teeth, </span>
  <em>
    <span>“Nathaniel</span>
  </em>
  <span> isn’t like that. Me, on the other hand…” He grinned again, while his captives cried out as the crane started to move.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Marinette!” Another voice called out, and all three teenages turned to spot none other than </span>
  <em>
    <span>Chat Noir</span>
  </em>
  <span> leaping through the air, green eyes glowing with </span>
  <em>
    <span>fury.</span>
  </em>
  <span> Rena Rouge was right behind him, radiating an equal amount of hatred as she regarded the akumatized villain.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Wait…” Carapace started, blinking in confusion despite his fear, “Why the hell are they- </span>
  <em>
    <span>agh!”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>His question was interrupted when Chat Noir leapt straight past the net, severing its connection to the crane with a quick swipe of his claws. Carapace and Marinette screamed as they plummeted straight towards the water, but their rescuers moved quickly- Rena Rouge caught Carapace, while Chat Noir snatched Marinette out of the air.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No!” Evilustrator cried out, as both of his captives managed to escape.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Sorry I’m late, Princess.” Chat Noir said softly, his previous anger completely absent as he set Marinette down gently next to the river. He looked her up and down curiously, “Cute costume you’ve got there.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Marinette couldn’t help but blush slightly at how close he was. Chat Noir seemed to notice this, and his own cheeks quickly heated up to match hers. He opened his mouth- probably to try and address the awkwardness, but nothing came out.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>This is embarrassing.</span>
  </em>
  <span> Marinette scolded herself. This was Chat Noir, the city’s second most wanted! This was neither the time nor the person for gawking like a bumbling schoolgirl. Even though he had just saved her, even though that embarrassed little smile he was making right now was cu- </span>
  <em>
    <span>stop it!</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’m sorry, time out!” Carapace looked between them, eyes narrowing in suspicion as he clutched his shield, “What the hell’s going on here!? Aren’t you supposed to be on </span>
  <em>
    <span>his</span>
  </em>
  <span> side?” He jerked his thumb back to where Evilustrator seemed to be sketching something.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Guess I got bored playing the villain- at least for tonight.” Chat Noir shrugged dismissively, and smirked slightly as Carapace’s bracelet started to beep, “Sounds like somebody can’t stick around to find out.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Marinette opened her mouth, ready to rush to Chat Noir’s defence before she caught herself- it still wasn’t her job to defend or make excuses for him, even if he was doing the right thing for the moment. Chat Noir was only protecting Marinette because he’d promised to- there was no reason to think of him as any less of an enemy from here on out.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It’s okay.” Rena Rouge whispered into Carapace’s ear, “Tikki thinks he’s being genuine.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well </span>
  <em>
    <span>that’s</span>
  </em>
  <span> a stretch.” Marinette jumped as her kwami flew out from behind Rena’s back, regarding Chat Noir somewhat coldly, “But the point stands- I don’t think he’s going to try anything tonight.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Chat Noir looked like he wanted to make another comment- probably something snarky about what Tikki had said, but the time for conversation was over. A quick glance at the river confirmed that Evilustrator had made good use of the break they were giving him; he seemed to have created a </span>
  <em>
    <span>fleet</span>
  </em>
  <span> of miniature warships, all of which had cannons pointed at the shore.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Great…” Rena Rouge sighed, and Marinette tensed as the fox heroine looked at her, “You think you can handle this?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Um, I don’t know…” Marinette hesitated, shifting as all eyes turned towards her, “Maybe I should just leave, and hope that Ladybug shows up-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No chance.” Tikki interrupted, shooting Marinette a very pointed look, “Ladybug’s out of commission for the night.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Ah…” Marinette winced, “I guess that makes sense-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Don’t sweat it, honey bee.” Chat Noir smiled, resting an arm on her shoulder in a gesture that made Marinette’s mind stop for a second even as the rest of the group (including Evilustrator) all glared daggers at him, “I’m sure you’ll do great!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Thunder rumbled in the distance as Marinette stared right back at him, entranced by the genuine </span>
  <em>
    <span>happiness</span>
  </em>
  <span> in his eyes as he regarded her, she could only form one coherent thought.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>I might have a problem…</span>
  </em>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>And then the heroes promptly kicked Evilustrator's butt, with Tikki swallowing the akuma to purify it!</p><p>Anyways, thanks for reading, and I hope to get more written sometime soon.</p><p>Also- Happy Thanksgiving!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. Alya</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Our heroes react to the fallout surrounding the battle with Evilustrator</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Ended up rewriting this one twice- still not really happy with it, but I've kept you guys waiting long enough. Hope you enjoy!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>“I don’t need to tell you how </span>
  <em>
    <span>insanely</span>
  </em>
  <span> dangerous that was.” Rena Rouge’s tone was scolding, but she remained gentle as she set Marinette down on her balcony.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Marinette sighed, “Yeah… I know. I just wanted to help Nathaniel.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The rest of the fight had been frantic, to say the least. Carapace had returned relatively quickly after recharging his kwami, but the absence of Ladybug meant that the team lacked a clear leader- something that Marinette </span>
  <em>
    <span>tried</span>
  </em>
  <span> to remedy by giving out her recommendations, with very limited success. Rena Rouge and Carapace were clearly hesitant to follow a complete newbie, and the desire to keep her identity safe kept Marinette’s commands at a considerably softer level.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They obviously had the strength of four Miraculous on their side, meaning that Evilustrator had essentially no chance of winning, but the fight was still far messier than Marientte would’ve preferred.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Chat Noir, to his credit, seemed to have no problem following her lead, allowing the two of them to work fairly harmoniously- even as her usual teammates clearly wanted to strangle him.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I know you did.” Rena Rouge said softly, the look on her face betraying a deep </span>
  <em>
    <span>concern</span>
  </em>
  <span> that one would only hold for a close friend, “But I wasn’t just talking about how things went with your classmate.” She gave Marinette a pointed look, “Hawkmoth knows that you’ve used a Miraculous now… that can </span>
  <em>
    <span>only</span>
  </em>
  <span> cause trouble.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well, yeah…” Marinette squirmed as she fully understood how bad that was, “But Chat Noir saw me give it to you afterwards, and I don’t think-” The words died in her throat, as Marinette quickly realized that there was no simple way to articulate the inexplicable </span>
  <em>
    <span>trust</span>
  </em>
  <span> she had that Chat Noir wouldn’t harm her.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Inexplicable really was the right word, after all. Marinette had no idea why she found herself so utterly unconcerned about Chat Noir seeing her use a Miraculous.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You don’t think what?” Rena Rouge probed, and sighed when Marinette remained silent,  “You know, we might as well talk about that too. The way you and Chat Noir were acting with each other… is there something you want to tell me?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The dark, almost </span>
  <em>
    <span>betrayed</span>
  </em>
  <span> look in Rena Rouge’s eyes- Alya’s eyes- made it clear that this wasn’t just a question from a superheroine to a civilian. It was an interrogation from a deeply worried best friend.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What’s that supposed to mean?” Marinette shifted uncomfortably, unable to stop her voice from going up a few notes. Probably because she knew </span>
  <em>
    <span>exactly</span>
  </em>
  <span> what Rena Rouge was referring to, even if she’d rather not.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>And given the pointed look Rena wore now… it was clear that the fox heroine wasn’t buying her denial.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“He called you </span>
  <em>
    <span>Honey Bee.”</span>
  </em>
  <span> Rena Rouge said flatly, in a clear </span>
  <em>
    <span>don’t bullshit me</span>
  </em>
  <span> voice, “Girl, if you don’t know what I’m talking about… I don’t know what to tell you.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Marinette flushed, </span>
  <em>
    <span>definitely</span>
  </em>
  <span> not ready for this conversation (especially since Tikki was likely to give her the same talk afterwards).</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Chat Noir had only seemed to get more bold with his flirting as the fight went on- cementing Marinette’s blush as an almost permanent feature for the evening. He went out of his way to protect her from every attack Evilustrator dished out, and seemed to take a particular pleasure in breaking the akumatized object himself, for whatever reason…</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Probably because he saw Evilustrator hurting you- </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Right…” Marinette laughed nervously, “Well, you know-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No, I really don’t.” Rena Rouge folded her arms across her chest, “Unless I’ve gone blind- and my senses get better when I transform, mind you- Chat Noir was hitting on you nonstop all evening.” Rena Rouge’s eyes narrowed, “And from what I saw, you weren’t exactly quick to shut him down, were you?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It was times like this that made Marinette wonder how the magic of the Miraculous really worked. Would she </span>
  <em>
    <span>really</span>
  </em>
  <span> not realize that this was her best friend? Rena Rouge seemed </span>
  <em>
    <span>just</span>
  </em>
  <span> like Alya! Especially when she was talking to Marinette like this. Part of her wanted to scold the girl for making it this obvious… but she had no way of doing so without exposing more secrets.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>That concern, however, was secondary to the accusation Rena Rouge- </span>
  <em>
    <span>Alya-</span>
  </em>
  <span> had just thrown in her face.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“That’s-” Marinette bit her tongue, anger flaring slightly, “I don’t know what you’re trying to say exactly, but you don’t know what you’re talking about!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Sure, Marinette had… noticed Chat Noir’s flirting, but it wasn’t like she’d participated in it!</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Riiiight.”</span>
  </em>
  <span> Rena Rouge rolled her eyes, slumping against the balcony’s railing a bit, “Of course I don’t. Which is why you’re getting so defensive, right?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I am not getting-” Marinette started, but quickly stopped as she realized that snapping back would only cement the accusation, “Listen, I’m sure he didn’t mean anything by all that.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Marinette scowled internally- scolding her own heart for sinking a bit at the proclamation.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Not that you would know.” Rena Rouge shook her head, “Or any of us, for that matter. I trusted him to help tonight because Tikki said so, but he’s still a </span>
  <em>
    <span>villain,</span>
  </em>
  <span> Marinette.” She sighed, while Marinette bit her lip anxiously, “We don’t know him. We don’t know what he’s playing at, and we don’t know what to expect anytime he shows up.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Marinette actually paused to consider her friend’s words. Rena Rouge was certainly right- none of them really knew anything about Chat Noir… not </span>
  <em>
    <span>really.</span>
  </em>
  <span> All they had to go off of was his actions so far, which had largely been in the service of Hawkmoth. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>But that wasn’t the whole story, and Rena Rogue </span>
  <em>
    <span>knew</span>
  </em>
  <span> it. Marinette wanted to argue with her, and point out the myriad occasions in which the three superheroes had discussed Chat Noir, specifically his more… </span>
  <em>
    <span>heroic</span>
  </em>
  <span> actions, but she of course couldn’t do that as a civilian. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I mean, that’s not really fair, is it?” Marinette hesitantly asked, “We just watched him fight an akumatized villain! He </span>
  <em>
    <span>helped</span>
  </em>
  <span> us!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“That’s not necessarily a good thing, Mari.” Rena Rouge sighed, using her best friend’s nickname without noticing, “Besides- he wasn’t there to help </span>
  <em>
    <span>us.</span>
  </em>
  <span> He was there to help </span>
  <em>
    <span>you.</span>
  </em>
  <span> There’s a huge difference there.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Marinette </span>
  <em>
    <span>sincerely</span>
  </em>
  <span> doubted that Chat Noir’s motivations were as simple as that.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Tonight was a step beyond all of his previous actions of course, but this wasn’t the first time Chat Noir had acted out to protect civilians, even if it lacked a personal touch. Not just civilians, actually- Chat Noir had even taken a hit for Ladybug just yesterday, during the fight with Stormy Weather! And their conversation afterwards was… intriguing, to say the least. Chat Noir had refused to back down, or offer any concrete evidence as to what was </span>
  <em>
    <span>really</span>
  </em>
  <span> going on with Hawkmoth, but there was clearly more to it than what met the eye.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I don’t think he’s a bad guy.” Marinette said finally, causing Rena Rouge to immediately facepalm, “I mean… he’s working with Hawkmoth </span>
  <em>
    <span>now,</span>
  </em>
  <span> but maybe he could-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’m just going to stop you right there.” Rena Rouge said, audibly sighing, “You’re not Bella Swan, Marinette.” She blushed at the implication, which only seemed to bother the superheroine further, “Just… promise me you won’t do anything stupid.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Marinette wanted to argue further, </span>
  <em>
    <span>especially</span>
  </em>
  <span> after Alya had the nerve to reference Twilight in any way, but the pained look in her best friend’s eyes was enough to make the raven-haired girl’s vexation fade slightly.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Marinette sighed, “Of course I won’t… I’m not- I wouldn’t do anything to risk-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You just got back from a date with a supervillain.” Rena Rouge interrupted tiredly, “So clearly you </span>
  <em>
    <span>would</span>
  </em>
  <span> do something risky.”</span>
  <span></span>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>
  <span>“I-” Marinette bit her tongue, more than ready for the conversation to end, “You guys needed my help, didn’t you?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Unfortunately.” A dark look came across Rena’s face, her narrowed eyes barely concealing something near </span>
  <em>
    <span>resentment,</span>
  </em>
  <span> “Was it Ladybug’s idea to send you out there?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What?” Marinette blinked, refusing to let herself get lost in the semantics of whether or not that was technically accurate, “N-No! I was the one to accept the invitation!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Alarms went off in Marinette’s head as Rena Rouge’s expression remained cold. It was quite similar to the look she got whenever Ladybug had to keep something secret- except it wasn’t even slightly tempered this time. She seemed </span>
  <em>
    <span>bitter,</span>
  </em>
  <span> angry with the spotted heroine that had so readily risked the life of her best friend for a brief situational advantage that hadn’t even worked.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You couldn’t have said no.” Rena Rouge said dryly, “A dangerous supervillain breaks into your home to ask you out- you </span>
  <em>
    <span>had</span>
  </em>
  <span> to agree, for your own safety.” She shook her head, “Is Ladybug the reason you showed up?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Marinette’s mind raced- </span>
  <em>
    <span>technically</span>
  </em>
  <span> it was all Ladybug’s idea, since she was Ladybug. And while Ladybug would never needlessly put a civilian in harm’s way… Rena Rouge and Carapace had no way of knowing that. From their perspective… Ladybug </span>
  <em>
    <span>had</span>
  </em>
  <span> risked Marinette’s life, even if Marinette had consented.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well… no?” Marinette said hesitantly, confused by her own train of thought, “I wanted to help Nathaniel, and-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Right, of course.” Rena Rouge nodded, immediately shifting back to a more guarded demeanor- even if Marinette could see through it, “Well, I had best get going then.” She gave Marinette one last tired look, “I’ll get your Miraculous back to Ladybug when I get the chance… and for what it’s worth, I really enjoyed working with you.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It was an odd feeling- Marinette could sense an almost </span>
  <em>
    <span>physical</span>
  </em>
  <span> tension in the air, even as the ill will wasn’t directed at her… well, technically it was, Rena Rouge just didn’t know. Marinette swallowed, but Alya was already climbing onto the railing.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Right…” Marinette shifted nervously, “S-Same here!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The fox heroine spared her one last soft smile before leaping off of the balcony- vanishing into the darkness of the Parisian night.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>__________</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“That. Was. Amazing!” Adrien beamed as he dismissed his transformation, unable to keep the giddy grin off of his face as he landed on the floor of the bedroom.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Ladybug was still his rival, to be sure, but </span>
  <em>
    <span>wow</span>
  </em>
  <span> did that girl have good judgement when it came to handing out Miraculous! Working with Marinette had been even better than Adrien would’ve ever expected (not that he’d </span>
  <em>
    <span>ever</span>
  </em>
  <span> expected to work with her, but the point still stood). She had proven herself to be competent as well as brave, imaginative, gorgeous-</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Calm down, Adrien.</span>
  </em>
  <span> He scolded himself, but it was only half-hearted.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She had certainly taken to her new powers with far more grace than he had on his first try, and he would even dare to say that Marinette was better than </span>
  <em>
    <span>Ladybug</span>
  </em>
  <span> during their first battles. They had defeated Evilustrator </span>
  <em>
    <span>handily</span>
  </em>
  <span> once all of the Miraculous holders joined forces- even if the fight got a bit chaotic.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Unlike his wielder, however, Plagg was positively </span>
  <em>
    <span>fuming</span>
  </em>
  <span> when he exited the ring, much to the boy’s surprise.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Stupid.” The kwami growled, twitching in agitation as he rushed over to his cheese fridge.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Uh, Plagg?” Adrien said, panicking a bit internally. Had he done something else to upset him? That didn’t make any sense, but why else would Plagg be-</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Not you.” Plagg interrupted his panicking spiral, returning back to Adrien’s side with a wedge of camembert in record time. He regarded his wielder judiciously, studying him up and down as though probing for any potential weak points, before finally perching on Adrien’s shoulder, “She had </span>
  <em>
    <span>some nerve,</span>
  </em>
  <span> speaking to you like that! She doesn’t know what the hell we’re dealing with over here, when her chosen probably lives in a fucking rose garden or something-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Wait, </span>
  <em>
    <span>what?”</span>
  </em>
  <span> Adrien blinked, flinching slightly at the physical contact, “Who are you talking about?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Tikki.” Plagg said, as though this should be obvious, “Ladybug’s kwami. The one that just got done chewing you out for no reason.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Oh.</span>
  </em>
  <span> In all the excitement of working with Marinette, Adrien had almost forgotten about the spotted kwami’s harsh rebuke. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Almost.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“You might think you’re helping, but I promise that your presence is only going to make things worse!”</span>
  </em>
  <span> Ladybug’s kwami- Tikki, according to Plagg- hadn’t beat around the bush in her condemnation. Adrien flinched at the memory, as the attack had hit much closer to home than she probably intended.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Or maybe it was intentional. There was a certain </span>
  <em>
    <span>knowledge</span>
  </em>
  <span> behind Tikki’s eyes, as though she could see straight into his soul.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Adrien shuddered at the thought.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I mean… it wasn’t for </span>
  <em>
    <span>no</span>
  </em>
  <span> reason.” Adrien said quietly, moving towards his bathroom to wash up for the night, “It’s like I said earlier: Chat Noir is a villain, and-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You’re not a villain.” Plagg interrupted, growing even more annoyed, “Would a </span>
  <em>
    <span>villain</span>
  </em>
  <span> have helped save Marinette tonight?” Adrien opened his mouth to respond, but Plagg didn’t let him, “The answer is </span>
  <em>
    <span>no,</span>
  </em>
  <span> Adrien. A villain doesn’t protect innocent people, and it’s not like this is the first time you’ve done it.” Plagg looked him dead in the eye, “And we </span>
  <em>
    <span>both</span>
  </em>
  <span> know that you wouldn’t be doing this if it wasn’t for him.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The words were almost certainly meant as a form of encouragement, but Adrien couldn’t bring himself to interpret them that way. It was probably true- Adrien wouldn’t be doing this if it wasn’t for his father, but what did that make him?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Can we please just drop it for tonight?” Adrien’s voice became pleading, “I’d </span>
  <em>
    <span>much</span>
  </em>
  <span> rather spend my night thinking about Marinette…”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’m sure you would, you little pervert-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Not like that!” Adrien’s face reddened immediately at the insinuation, and Plagg immediately burst out laughing, “Plagg!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>But much to Adrien’s surprise, his kwami honored the request- Plagg didn’t broach the subject of what Tikki had said for the rest of the night. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Instead, Adrien got to spend the better part of twenty minutes gushing about Marinette, even though his audience was clearly annoyed by it. Adrien just couldn’t stop himself though- from the way she’d held her own despite never using a Miraculous before, to the bravery she’d shown by just </span>
  <em>
    <span>being</span>
  </em>
  <span> there, Adrien was becoming more and more convinced that Marinette Dupain-Cheng was the coolest person he’d ever met.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Not to mention all of the other stuff she does…” Adrien smiled as he reached for the blue scarf she’d given him on his birthday- just two weeks ago.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Second best gift you got that day.” Plagg snorted when he saw Adrien staring at it.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The boy grimaced at the memory.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Adrien had spent the better part of his afternoon that day convincing his father to </span>
  <em>
    <span>not</span>
  </em>
  <span> akumatize Nino, eventually succeeding in the end despite the man’s stubborn nature. It had taken the better part of an hour of persuasion from both Adrien </span>
  <em>
    <span>and</span>
  </em>
  <span> Nathalie, the latter eventually convincing Gabriel that it could serve as his gift to Adrien for the year (since apparently he’d forgotten about his birthday).</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>And while Gabriel was indeed a stubborn man, he was also contractual- he chose to akumatize somebody else instead, giving Adrien even less time to spend with his friends on his own birthday.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Needless to say, the entire experience had put Adrien in a sour mood for the remainder of the day- with Adrien very nearly losing his temper on several occasions. It reached the point that Adrien feared his father might akumatize </span>
  <em>
    <span>him,</span>
  </em>
  <span> until something unexpected happened.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I still can’t believe she made this for me.” Adrien whispered, resting the scarf back down on his nightstand. She did it for </span>
  <em>
    <span>everybody’s</span>
  </em>
  <span> birthday in their class, as unbelievable as that sounded.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Ugh.” Plagg groaned, but there was a softness to his complaint, “I’m going to be hearing about this girl for a </span>
  <em>
    <span>long</span>
  </em>
  <span> time, aren’t I?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Probably not.</span>
  </em>
  <span> Adrien had argued with Plagg this morning on this very topic- even if Adrien </span>
  <em>
    <span>could</span>
  </em>
  <span> convince Marinette to go out with him (he sincerely doubted it), he had no business pulling somebody else into his life right now. Between the harsh reality that Adrien moonlighted as a supervillain, and the regular bad press that was sure to come with seeing one of the city’s biggest heartthrobs, getting involved with Adrien would only mean trouble for her.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>And ultimately, that was more important than Adrien’s feelings.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>__________</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Nino waved when he spotted Alya, sitting on a bench in the school’s courtyard, and let out an amused sigh when she didn’t even slightly react. Alya’s gaze was focused across the courtyard- a sharp and potent stare that was incapable of noticing anything else, even Nino. He squinted, frowning slightly when he recognized her targets.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Marinette and Nathaniel were standing next to each other, deep in conversation, with Nathaniel very clearly distraught. Marinette’s body language suggested reassurance, meaning that they were probably talking about the previous night, right?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Take a picture- it’ll last longer.” Nino joked as he waved a hand in front of Alya’s eyes, snapping her out of her trance.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Nino!” She exclaimed, completely caught off guard as her friend and superhero teammate let out a teasing laugh.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Should’ve seen your face.” Nino smiled, but quickly shifted back to a more serious tone, “So… why are we staring at Marinette and Nathaniel?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The two teens in question seemed to be finishing their conversation- Nathaniel was listening intently as Marinette gave him a reassuring pat on the shoulder, and his posture remained entirely stiff. Nino had no idea if Nathaniel knew all of the details about last night, or if it would even be appropriate to tell him if he didn’t. Nino could only imagine what it would be like to learn that you had attacked people you cared about- intentionally or not.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’m just…” Alya paused, and then sighed, “...keeping an eye on Marinette, I guess. You know how worried I am.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Of course.” Nino nodded, because he did indeed know how worried Alya was, having sat on a rooftop listening to her vent for nearly an hour last night. He certainly hadn’t minded, both because of his own worries and because of how deeply it upset him to hear Alya so… </span>
  <em>
    <span>distraught.</span>
  </em>
  <span> Being there for her was definitely important.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“She could be in </span>
  <em>
    <span>serious</span>
  </em>
  <span> danger.” Alya said, shifting with uncharacteristic anxiety, “Hawkmoth knows she used a Miraculous.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Wayzz- Nino’s kwami- had expressed concern over that very topic last night, once the two of them had made it back to Nino’s room. And while Nino certainly wanted to reassure his crush that everything was going to be fine, he found himself struggling to even convince </span>
  <em>
    <span>himself</span>
  </em>
  <span> that there was no reason to panic.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We’ll keep an eye on her.” Nino said, beginning to reach a reassuring hand towards Alya’s shoulder but quickly chickening out, “Hopefully… hopefully Chat Noir puts in a good word for her.” Nino winced, “He… certainly seemed to like her, didn’t he?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah…” Alya scowled, perhaps even more upset about that point than Nino, “He really did, didn’t he?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Nino hadn’t liked the way Chat Noir acted last night- not one bit. He had absolutely no idea why the feline villain had decided to help them, even considering the… </span>
  <em>
    <span>restraint</span>
  </em>
  <span> he’d shown during some battles in the past.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>But as if that wasn’t confusing enough, Nino drew the line when the guy started paying special attention to one of his oldest friends. Openly flirting with Marinette was more than enough to grind on Nino’s nerves- even when it wasn’t from a supervillain! He put up with Adrien’s awkward flirting in class because he liked the guy, but that was about it.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hey guys!” As if having been summoned by Nino’s thoughts, Adrien’s voice shook the two of them from their gloomy thoughts. The blond boy smiled as he approached, but his eyes betrayed a slight worry as he noticed the downtrodden looks on their faces.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hey, dude!” Nino forced a smile, fist-bumping Adrien as he joined stood next to them. Alya also offered a nod of acknowledgement, but it was clear that her mind was still elsewhere.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Adrien followed Alya’s gaze, frowning as he noticed where she was looking, “Why is she talking to him?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Nino had to suppress a snort- Adrien had a ‘model face’ that he used whenever he was working for his father, an almost mechanical expression that offered casual formalities when the situation demanded, and a winning smile for any cameras in the vicinity. It kind of creeped Nino out, honestly, </span>
  <em>
    <span>especially</span>
  </em>
  <span> when it bled into their normal conversations, but seeing it collapse so quickly at the sight of Marinette and Nathaniel was pretty entertaining.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Apparently Alya noticed it as well- she blinked in confusion as Adrien’s more </span>
  <em>
    <span>bitter</span>
  </em>
  <span> voice caught her attention.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You’ve got a problem with them talking, Agreste?” Alya demanded, and Adrien’s eyes widened in panic.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Busted…” Nino snickered, and Adrien shot him a glare.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Um… no?” Adrien tried, his face reddening as Alya stared at him, “I just… after what happened with Mendeleev in class yesterday, and Nathaniel getting akumatized, I thought-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It’s none of your business.” Alya interrupted flatly, but she still looked intrigued as Adrien withered a bit, “So why do you care?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Nino arched an eyebrow, curious to see how Adrien responded. Adrien liked Marinette- he’d admitted as much when Nino caught him staring- but Nino was probably the only one in the entire building that knew about it, and he’d been sworn to secrecy. Nino was pretty sure that Adrien was insecure about his feelings, probably because he didn’t really know many people his own age, making the odds of him acting on his feelings pretty low.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“...I’m sorry.” Adrien finally said, his posture sinking slightly, “You’re right, it’s none of my business. I was just worried about Marinette.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Never seen you get this ‘worried’ about anybody else.” Alya remarked, and Nino had to suppress another laugh as he recognized her reporter voice.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well, that’s-” Adrien blushed even more, and Alya’s eyes lit up suddenly.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You like her.” Alya accused, and Adrien </span>
  <em>
    <span>squirmed.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Nino, help me!” Adrien pleaded, eyes wide with panic, but Nino just laughed.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Sorry dude.” Nino said, “You’re on your own.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Adrien pouted slightly, but recognized there was little Nino could do anyways. Both boys looked over at Alya, who had clearly interpreted Adrien’s evasive ramblings as confirmation of her theory. She was deep in thought yet again, looking Adrien up and down as though studying his every aspect- finally offering a reluctant nod.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well…” Alya said begrudgingly, “You’re better than Chat Noir, at least.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Adrien seemed to tense at the mention of the supervillain, “Um, what-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You have my </span>
  <em>
    <span>tentative</span>
  </em>
  <span> blessing.” Alya said, picking up her bag as she rose to her feet, offering him a warning look, “You need to drop that jealousy- it’s not a good look. But other than that, you seem like a sweet guy, Adrien.” Alya tapped her chin thoughtfully, “As if my girl wasn’t popular enough… she’s got a </span>
  <em>
    <span>supermodel</span>
  </em>
  <span> stuttering at the mention of her name.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Adrien looked to be beyond lost, so Nino offered him a sympathetic pat on the shoulder, “This is a good thing, dude. Approval from her best friend is like… the best thing you could’ve asked for.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Approval that I reserve the right to cancel at any time.” Alya warned, but she seemed </span>
  <em>
    <span>significantly</span>
  </em>
  <span> more upbeat than before, “It should go without saying that you’re fucking dead if you hurt her, but I’ll say it anyway.” Alya’s eyes narrowed, “Adrien Agreste, you are fucking dead if you play with my girl’s heart.”</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Thanks to everybody for reading, and I wish you all a Merry Christmas / Happy Holidays!</p>
        </blockquote><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Thanks for reading! I appreciate all comments / criticisms / reactions!</p></blockquote><div class="children module" id="children">
  <b class="heading">Works inspired by this one:</b>
  <ul>
    <li>
        <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28018473">Emotional Baggage, Misunderstandings, and Navigating Through Relationships Despite Them: HappyCamper41's "Wanted: A Butterfly And A Cat"</a> by <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/Keyseeker/pseuds/Keyseeker">Keyseeker</a>
    </li>
  </ul>
</div></div></div>
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